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START / NODE 676Present-Day English14th century–today
proverb
A brief traditional saying or maxim; English received the word through Anglo-French from Latin proverbium.
“Proverb and pro-verb are different words: the ancient saying and the modern grammatical substitute only look identical without the hyphen.”OPEN COMPLETE WORD DOSSIER ↗
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01
PARENT ROUTES1 REVIEWED RELATIONSHIP
Present-Day Englishproverb
a brief traditional saying, maxim, or adage
↑GO DEEPER
Middle English · Middle English, 14th centuryproverbeproverb, maxim
- SOUND CHANGE
- English proverb regularizes the Middle English final vowel while preserving the learned stem.
- SEMANTIC CHANGE
- The traditional-saying sense continues.
- SCHOLAR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- CONFIDENCE
- established
- CHRONOLOGY
- First known use is reported in the fourteenth century.
THE ASTERISK IS A PROMISE
RECONSTRUCTION IS
NOT INSCRIPTION.
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