a well-known phrase or sentence that gives advice or says something that is generally true, for example ‘Waste not, want not.’ 谚语;格言 Extra ExamplesTopics Languageb2As the old proverb has it: ‘A stitch in time saves nine’. 正如那句古老的谚语所说:“一针见血”。 As a Chinese proverb has it: ‘The fish will be the last to discover the water.’ 正如中国有句谚语所说:“当事者迷。” a dictionary of proverbs 谚语词典
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French proverbe, from Latin proverbium, from pro- ‘(put) forth’ + verbum ‘word’.