proverb

noun

1. A commonly used sentence expressing popular wisdom.

   “Near-synonyms: aphorism, maxim, adage, saw, saying, apothegm, byword, paroemia, sententia (Latin)”

   “As a Yiddish proverb has it: Badarf men hunik ven tsuker iz zis? Who needs honey when sugar is sweet?”

2. (obsolete)Any commonly used turn of phrase expressing a metaphor, simile, or descriptive epithet.
3. (obsolete)A striking or paradoxical assertion; an obscure saying; an enigma; a parable.

   “His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.”

4. (obsolete)A familiar illustration; a subject of contemptuous reference.

   “Thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by word, among all nations.”

5. (obsolete)A drama exemplifying a proverb.

verb

1. To write or utter proverbs.
2. To name in, or as, a proverb.

   “Am I not sung and proverbed for a fool / In every street, do they not say, "How well / Are come upon him his deserts?"”

3. To provide with a proverb.

   “I am proverbed with a grandsire phrase.”