Definition:
A short, pithy statement of a general truth, one that condenses common experience into memorable form. Or, as defined by Miguel de Cervantes, "a short sentence based on long experience." One of the progymnasmata. Adjective: proverbial. See also:
Etymology:
From the Latin, "word"Examples and Observations:
- "Here's the rule for bargains: 'Do other men, for they would do you.' That's the true business precept."
(Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit) - "Time wounds all heels."
(Jane Ace) - "The aphorism is a personal observation inflated into a universal truth, a private posing as a general. A proverb is anonymous human history compressed to the size of a seed."
(Stefan Kanfer, "Proverbs or Aphorisms?" Time, July 11, 1983) - "It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
(Arthur Conan Doyle) - "A proverb is a statement we enthusiastically embrace when we are unwilling to examine the particulars in a general situation."
(Sydney J. Harris) - "Use soft words and hard arguments."
(English proverb) - "Patch grief with proverbs."
(William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing) - "Work smart, not hard. That's my philosophy, boss."
(Dr. Gregory House, House, M.D.) - "Proverbs are strategies for dealing with situations. Another name for strategies might be attitudes."
(Kenneth Burke, The Philosophy of Literary Form) - "One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds."
(Frank Zappa) - "[Proverbs are] brief, memorable, and intuitively convincing formulations of socially sanctioned advice."
(Paul Hernadi, "The Tropical Landscape of Proverbia," Style, Spring 1999) - "It's not the thing you fling; it's the fling itself."
(Chris Stevens, Northern Exposure)
Pronunciation: PRAHV-urb
Also Known As: adage, maxim, sententia
