Proverb

Proverb

A proverb (from Latin: proverbium) is a simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or experience. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim. Proverbs fall into the category of formulaic language.

Proverbs are often borrowed from similar languages and cultures, and sometimes come down to the present through more than one language. Both the Bible (including, but not limited to the Book of Proverbs) and medieval Latin (aided by the work of Erasmus) have played a considerable role in distributing proverbs across Europe. Mieder has concluded that cultures that treat the Bible as their "major spiritual book contain between three hundred and five hundred proverbs that stem from the Bible.However, almost every culture has examples of its own unique proverbs.
Defining a “proverb” is a difficult task. Proverb scholars often quote Archer Taylor’s classic “The definition of a proverb is too difficult to repay the undertaking... An incommunicable quality tells us this sentence is proverbial and that one is not. Hence no definition will enable us to identify positively a sentence as proverbial”. Another common definition is from Lord John Russell (c. 1850) “A proverb is the wit of one, and the wisdom of many.”

More constructively, Mieder has proposed the following definition, “A proverb is a short, generally known sentence of the folk which contains wisdom, truth, morals, and traditional views in a metaphorical, fixed, and memorizable form and which is handed down from generation to generation. Norrick created a table of distinctive features to distinguish proverbs from idioms, cliches, etc. Prahlad distinguishes proverbs from some other, closely related types of sayings, “True proverbs must further be distinguished from other types of proverbial speech, e.g. proverbial phrases, Wellerisms, maxims, quotations, and proverbial comparisons.”[6] Based on Persian proverbs, Zolfaghari and Ameri propose the following definition: "A proverb is a short sentence, which is well-known and at times rhythmic, including advice, sage themes and ethnic experiences, comprising simile, metaphor or irony which is well-known among people for its fluent wording, clarity of expression, simplicity, expansiveness and generality and is used either with or without change

There are many sayings in English that are commonly referred to as “proverbs”, such as weather sayings. Alan Dundes, however, rejects including such sayings among truly proverbs: “Are weather proverbs proverbs? I would say emphatically 'No!'”[8] The definition of “proverb” has also changed over the years. For example, the following was labeled “A Yorkshire proverb” in 1883, but would not be categorized as a proverb by most today, “as throng as Throp's wife when she


Examples

See also: List of proverbial phrases
Haste makes waste
A stitch in time saves nine
Ignorance is bliss
Mustn't cry over spilled milk.
You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Fortune favours the bold
Well begun is half done.
A little learning is a dangerous thing
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
It ain't over till the fat lady sings
It is better to be smarter than you appear than to appear smarter than you are.
Good things come to those who wait.
A poor workman blames his tools.
A dog is a man's best friend.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away
If the shoe fits, wear it!
Honesty is the best policy
Slow and steady wins the race
Don't count your chickens before they hatch





http://www.dictionary.com/browse/proverb

http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-proverbs.html