proverbial

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin prōverbiālis (“of the nature of a proverb”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from prōverbium (“proverb”) and the suffix -ālis.^[2][4][7] The OED dates the Latin adjective to the 2nd century AD and notes that post-classical Latin also used it for "current as a proverb";^[2] Etymonline calls it Late Latin.^[3] Prōverbium, the source of proverb, is formed from prō (“forth”) and verbum (“word”).^[3] The OED compares Middle French proverbial (1487), Catalan proverbial, Spanish proverbial, Portuguese proverbial and Italian proverbiale;^[2] Johnson derived the English word from French.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Resembling or of the nature of a proverb; expressed in proverbs: before 1475, in a translation of Higden's Polychronicon.^[2] Etymonline dates it to the late 15th century,^[3] Merriam-Webster to the 15th century^[4] and Dictionary.com to 1400–50.^[9]

Semantic evolution

From 1571, in Golding's translation of Calvin's psalms, proverbial was also used of something referred to in a proverb or so familiar that it had become a byword, and so of anything notorious or stereotypical.^[2][4] Johnson (1755) gave three senses: mentioned in a proverb, resembling a proverb, and comprised in a proverb.^[8] The 17th century briefly used it for a person fond of proverbs, as an adjective (1665) and as a noun (1599).^[2] In 20th-century colloquial British and Australian English, the proverbial stands in for a coarse word in a familiar phrase:^[2][10] Green's Dictionary of Slang records come a proverbial, to come to grief, from Australia in 1919.^[10]

Timeline

• before 1475 – of the nature of a proverb; expressed in proverbs.^[2]
• 1571 – current as a proverb; well known, notorious.^[2]
• 1599 – noun, a person fond of proverbs (obsolete).^[2]
• 1645 – noun, a proverb (rare).^[2]
• 1665 – much given to the use of proverbs (obsolete).^[2]
• 1919 – come a proverbial, in Australian slang.^[10]
• 1925 – the proverbial as a euphemism for a coarse word in a familiar phrase.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Commonly referred to, as if in a proverb; well known for a particular quality, often to the point of being a stereotype: the proverbial patience of fishermen.^[11][4][2]
2. Of, relating to, expressed in or resembling a proverb: proverbial sayings.^[11][4][2]

Noun

1. the proverbial (colloquial, chiefly British and Australian): used in place of a coarse or euphemistically avoided word in a familiar phrase.^[2][10]

Word family

• proverbially
• unproverbial

Related words

• proverb
• verb
• verbal

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
10. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
11. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins