"proverbial" meaning in English

See proverbial in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /pɹəˈvɜɹb.iː.əl/ [UK] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav [Southern-England] Forms: more proverbial [comparative], most proverbial [superlative]
Etymology: From Latin prōverbiālis, equivalent to proverb + -ial Etymology templates: {{uder|en|la|prōverbiālis}} Latin prōverbiālis, {{suffix|en|proverb|-ial}} proverb + -ial Head templates: {{en-adj}} proverbial (comparative more proverbial, superlative most proverbial)
  1. Of, resembling, or expressed as a proverb, cliché, fable, or fairy tale. Translations (of a proverb): пры́казкавы (prýkazkavy) (Belarusian), пословичен (poslovičen) (Bulgarian), příslovečný [masculine] (Czech), proverba (Esperanto), sananlaskumainen (Finnish), proverbial (French), sprichwörtlich (German), proverbial (German), παροιμιακός (paroimiakós) (Greek), proverbiale (Italian), prōverbiālis (Latin), proverbial (Portuguese), провербиа́льный (proverbiálʹnyj) (Russian), посло́вичный (poslóvičnyj) (Russian), proverbial (Spanish), провербіа́льний (proverbiálʹnyj) [masculine] (Ukrainian), diarhebol (Welsh)
    Sense id: en-proverbial-en-adj-xQz5IxUy Categories (other): English terms suffixed with -ial Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ial: 16 25 14 28 17 Disambiguation of 'of a proverb': 61 35 3
  2. Optionally placed before an element of a well-known proverb or metaphor to emphasize that the element is not being used in a literal sense (see Usage notes below)
    Sense id: en-proverbial-en-adj-5-3bu~li Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -ial, English undefined derivations, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 5 entries, Pages with entries, Terms with Belarusian translations, Terms with Bulgarian translations, Terms with Czech translations, Terms with Danish translations, Terms with Esperanto translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Greek translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Latin translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Ukrainian translations, Terms with Welsh translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 9 59 8 16 9 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ial: 16 25 14 28 17 Disambiguation of English undefined derivations: 14 33 12 25 16 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 6 68 7 12 6 Disambiguation of Pages with 5 entries: 9 59 9 15 8 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 6 72 6 10 6 Disambiguation of Terms with Belarusian translations: 11 55 11 16 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Bulgarian translations: 11 55 11 16 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Czech translations: 11 55 11 16 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Danish translations: 7 69 6 12 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Esperanto translations: 8 64 8 13 8 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 11 55 11 16 7 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 9 55 10 17 9 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 11 55 11 16 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Greek translations: 10 52 11 18 9 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 7 68 7 11 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Latin translations: 8 64 8 13 8 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 11 57 10 15 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 8 64 8 13 8 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 7 66 8 13 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 9 61 10 14 6 Disambiguation of Terms with Ukrainian translations: 11 55 11 16 7 Disambiguation of Terms with Welsh translations: 15 48 12 18 8
  3. Widely known; famous; stereotypical. Translations (widely known; famous): агу́льнавядо́мы (ahúlʹnavjadómy) (Belarusian), праславу́ты (praslavúty) (Belarusian), общоизвестен (obštoizvesten) (Bulgarian), almenkendt (Danish), proverba (Esperanto), tunnettu (Finnish), maankuulu (Finnish), kuuluisa (Finnish), proverbial (French), sprichwörtlich (German), παροιμιώδης (paroimiódis) (Greek), proverbiale (Italian), proverbial (Portuguese), общеизве́стный (obščeizvéstnyj) (Russian), преслову́тый (preslovútyj) (Russian), провербиа́льный (proverbiálʹnyj) (Russian), proverbial (Spanish), allmänt känd (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-proverbial-en-adj-wwTg4US- Categories (other): English terms suffixed with -ial Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ial: 16 25 14 28 17 Disambiguation of 'widely known; famous': 2 11 87
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: proverbialise, proverbialize, proverbialism, proverbialist, proverbiality, proverbially, proverbialness, the proverbial dog that caught the car, unproverbial, up the proverbial

Noun

IPA: /pɹəˈvɜɹb.iː.əl/ [UK] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav [Southern-England] Forms: proverbials [plural]
Etymology: From Latin prōverbiālis, equivalent to proverb + -ial Etymology templates: {{uder|en|la|prōverbiālis}} Latin prōverbiālis, {{suffix|en|proverb|-ial}} proverb + -ial Head templates: {{en-noun}} proverbial (plural proverbials)
  1. (euphemistic) Used to replace a word that might be considered unacceptable in a particular situation, when using a well-known phrase. Tags: euphemistic
    Sense id: en-proverbial-en-noun-QhxX~1kk Categories (other): English euphemisms, English terms suffixed with -ial Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ial: 16 25 14 28 17
  2. (euphemistic, in the plural) The groin or the testicles. Tags: euphemistic, in-plural Translations (groin): sukukalleudet [plural] (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-proverbial-en-noun-v11C2wXU Categories (other): English euphemisms, English terms suffixed with -ial Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ial: 16 25 14 28 17 Disambiguation of 'groin': 18 82

Inflected forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "proverbialise"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "proverbialize"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "proverbialism"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "proverbialist"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "proverbiality"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "proverbially"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "proverbialness"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "the proverbial dog that caught the car"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "unproverbial"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "up the proverbial"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "prōverbiālis"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin prōverbiālis",
      "name": "uder"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "3": "-ial"
      },
      "expansion": "proverb + -ial",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin prōverbiālis, equivalent to proverb + -ial",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more proverbial",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most proverbial",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "proverbial (comparative more proverbial, superlative most proverbial)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "16 25 14 28 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -ial",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              28,
              38
            ]
          ],
          "text": "The busyness of a beaver is proverbial.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              57,
              67
            ]
          ],
          "text": "The beaver in this instance upheld the reputation of the proverbial one: her output was prodigious.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1947, Miracle on 34th Street (transcript)",
          "text": "Doris: You're making me feel like the proverbial stepmother."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Of, resembling, or expressed as a proverb, cliché, fable, or fairy tale."
      ],
      "id": "en-proverbial-en-adj-xQz5IxUy",
      "links": [
        [
          "proverb",
          "proverb"
        ],
        [
          "cliché",
          "cliché"
        ],
        [
          "fable",
          "fable"
        ],
        [
          "fairy tale",
          "fairy tale"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "be",
          "lang": "Belarusian",
          "lang_code": "be",
          "roman": "prýkazkavy",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "пры́казкавы"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "lang_code": "bg",
          "roman": "poslovičen",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "пословичен"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "lang_code": "cs",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "příslovečný"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "lang_code": "eo",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "proverba"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "sananlaskumainen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "proverbial"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "sprichwörtlich"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "proverbial"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "lang_code": "el",
          "roman": "paroimiakós",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "παροιμιακός"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "lang_code": "it",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "proverbiale"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "lang_code": "la",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "prōverbiālis"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "lang_code": "pt",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "proverbial"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "lang_code": "ru",
          "roman": "proverbiálʹnyj",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "провербиа́льный"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "lang_code": "ru",
          "roman": "poslóvičnyj",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "посло́вичный"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "lang_code": "es",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "proverbial"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "lang_code": "uk",
          "roman": "proverbiálʹnyj",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "провербіа́льний"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "61 35 3",
          "code": "cy",
          "lang": "Welsh",
          "lang_code": "cy",
          "sense": "of a proverb",
          "word": "diarhebol"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "9 59 8 16 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "16 25 14 28 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -ial",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "14 33 12 25 16",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English undefined derivations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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        {
          "_dis": "6 68 7 12 6",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 59 9 15 8",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 72 6 10 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 55 11 16 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Belarusian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 55 11 16 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 55 11 16 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Czech translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "7 69 6 12 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Danish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 64 8 13 8",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Esperanto translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 55 11 16 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 55 10 17 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 55 11 16 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 52 11 18 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Greek translations",
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        },
        {
          "_dis": "7 68 7 11 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
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        {
          "_dis": "8 64 8 13 8",
          "kind": "other",
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        {
          "_dis": "11 57 10 15 7",
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          "_dis": "8 64 8 13 8",
          "kind": "other",
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          "_dis": "7 66 8 13 7",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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        {
          "_dis": "9 61 10 14 6",
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          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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        {
          "_dis": "11 55 11 16 7",
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          "name": "Terms with Ukrainian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
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          "_dis": "15 48 12 18 8",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Welsh translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
              14
            ]
          ],
          "text": "the proverbial smoking gun",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
              14
            ]
          ],
          "text": "the proverbial spilled milk",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              40,
              50
            ]
          ],
          "text": "The visit was a warning shot across our proverbial bow",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              28,
              38
            ],
            [
              372,
              382
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2018 January 17, Deidre Walsh, quoting Mark Walker, “Republican Study Committee Chairman supports ‘crap sandwich’ funding bill”, in CNN, archived from the original on 18 Jan 2018:",
          "text": "“We don’t like it, it’s the proverbial ‘crap sandwich’ that they talk about but what’s the best move from here and we think it’s the way to go,” said Rep. Mark Walker, chairman of the large group of fiscal conservatives known as the Republican Study Committee. […] “I think there is a growing consensus, whether it’s February or sometime, that we don’t want to be on this proverbial hamster wheel,” he said.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Optionally placed before an element of a well-known proverb or metaphor to emphasize that the element is not being used in a literal sense (see Usage notes below)"
      ],
      "id": "en-proverbial-en-adj-5-3bu~li",
      "links": [
        [
          "metaphor",
          "metaphor#English"
        ],
        [
          "literal",
          "literal#English"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "16 25 14 28 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -ial",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              93,
              103
            ]
          ],
          "text": "I grew up in a prefab house on Main Street in 1950s suburbia, the second and last child of a proverbial nuclear family.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              81,
              91
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2007 May 17, Mark Leibovich, “For ’08 Résumés, Don’t Ask Them to Fill in Blanks”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 25 Jan 2021:",
          "text": "Mr. Obama has presented himself as a fresh face, unsteeped in Washington and the proverbial “politics as usual.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Widely known; famous; stereotypical."
      ],
      "id": "en-proverbial-en-adj-wwTg4US-",
      "links": [
        [
          "known",
          "known"
        ],
        [
          "famous",
          "famous"
        ],
        [
          "stereotypical",
          "stereotypical"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "be",
          "lang": "Belarusian",
          "lang_code": "be",
          "roman": "ahúlʹnavjadómy",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "агу́льнавядо́мы"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "be",
          "lang": "Belarusian",
          "lang_code": "be",
          "roman": "praslavúty",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "праславу́ты"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "lang_code": "bg",
          "roman": "obštoizvesten",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "общоизвестен"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "lang_code": "da",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "almenkendt"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "lang_code": "eo",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "proverba"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "tunnettu"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "maankuulu"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "kuuluisa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "proverbial"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "sprichwörtlich"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "lang_code": "el",
          "roman": "paroimiódis",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "παροιμιώδης"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "lang_code": "it",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "proverbiale"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "lang_code": "pt",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "proverbial"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "lang_code": "ru",
          "roman": "obščeizvéstnyj",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "общеизве́стный"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "lang_code": "ru",
          "roman": "preslovútyj",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "преслову́тый"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "lang_code": "ru",
          "roman": "proverbiálʹnyj",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "провербиа́льный"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "lang_code": "es",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "proverbial"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "2 11 87",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "lang_code": "sv",
          "sense": "widely known; famous",
          "word": "allmänt känd"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/pɹəˈvɜɹb.iː.əl/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/56/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/56/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "proverbial"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "prōverbiālis"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin prōverbiālis",
      "name": "uder"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "3": "-ial"
      },
      "expansion": "proverb + -ial",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin prōverbiālis, equivalent to proverb + -ial",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "proverbials",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "proverbial (plural proverbials)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English euphemisms",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "16 25 14 28 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -ial",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              42,
              52
            ]
          ],
          "text": "I think we should be prepared in case the proverbial hits the fan.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              19,
              29
            ]
          ],
          "text": "Are you taking the proverbial?",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to replace a word that might be considered unacceptable in a particular situation, when using a well-known phrase."
      ],
      "id": "en-proverbial-en-noun-QhxX~1kk",
      "links": [
        [
          "unacceptable",
          "unacceptable"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(euphemistic) Used to replace a word that might be considered unacceptable in a particular situation, when using a well-known phrase."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "euphemistic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English euphemisms",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "16 25 14 28 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -ial",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              35,
              46
            ]
          ],
          "text": "You'll find they've got you by the proverbials.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The groin or the testicles."
      ],
      "id": "en-proverbial-en-noun-v11C2wXU",
      "links": [
        [
          "groin",
          "groin"
        ],
        [
          "testicle",
          "testicle"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(euphemistic, in the plural) The groin or the testicles."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "euphemistic",
        "in-plural"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "18 82",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "groin",
          "tags": [
            "plural"
          ],
          "word": "sukukalleudet"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/pɹəˈvɜɹb.iː.əl/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/56/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/56/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "proverbial"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms suffixed with -ial",
    "English undefined derivations",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 5 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Belarusian translations",
    "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
    "Terms with Czech translations",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Esperanto translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Latin translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Terms with Ukrainian translations",
    "Terms with Welsh translations"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "proverbialise"
    },
    {
      "word": "proverbialize"
    },
    {
      "word": "proverbialism"
    },
    {
      "word": "proverbialist"
    },
    {
      "word": "proverbiality"
    },
    {
      "word": "proverbially"
    },
    {
      "word": "proverbialness"
    },
    {
      "word": "the proverbial dog that caught the car"
    },
    {
      "word": "unproverbial"
    },
    {
      "word": "up the proverbial"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "prōverbiālis"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin prōverbiālis",
      "name": "uder"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "3": "-ial"
      },
      "expansion": "proverb + -ial",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin prōverbiālis, equivalent to proverb + -ial",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more proverbial",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most proverbial",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "proverbial (comparative more proverbial, superlative most proverbial)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              28,
              38
            ]
          ],
          "text": "The busyness of a beaver is proverbial.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              57,
              67
            ]
          ],
          "text": "The beaver in this instance upheld the reputation of the proverbial one: her output was prodigious.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1947, Miracle on 34th Street (transcript)",
          "text": "Doris: You're making me feel like the proverbial stepmother."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Of, resembling, or expressed as a proverb, cliché, fable, or fairy tale."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "proverb",
          "proverb"
        ],
        [
          "cliché",
          "cliché"
        ],
        [
          "fable",
          "fable"
        ],
        [
          "fairy tale",
          "fairy tale"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
              14
            ]
          ],
          "text": "the proverbial smoking gun",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              4,
              14
            ]
          ],
          "text": "the proverbial spilled milk",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              40,
              50
            ]
          ],
          "text": "The visit was a warning shot across our proverbial bow",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              28,
              38
            ],
            [
              372,
              382
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2018 January 17, Deidre Walsh, quoting Mark Walker, “Republican Study Committee Chairman supports ‘crap sandwich’ funding bill”, in CNN, archived from the original on 18 Jan 2018:",
          "text": "“We don’t like it, it’s the proverbial ‘crap sandwich’ that they talk about but what’s the best move from here and we think it’s the way to go,” said Rep. Mark Walker, chairman of the large group of fiscal conservatives known as the Republican Study Committee. […] “I think there is a growing consensus, whether it’s February or sometime, that we don’t want to be on this proverbial hamster wheel,” he said.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Optionally placed before an element of a well-known proverb or metaphor to emphasize that the element is not being used in a literal sense (see Usage notes below)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "metaphor",
          "metaphor#English"
        ],
        [
          "literal",
          "literal#English"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              93,
              103
            ]
          ],
          "text": "I grew up in a prefab house on Main Street in 1950s suburbia, the second and last child of a proverbial nuclear family.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              81,
              91
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2007 May 17, Mark Leibovich, “For ’08 Résumés, Don’t Ask Them to Fill in Blanks”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 25 Jan 2021:",
          "text": "Mr. Obama has presented himself as a fresh face, unsteeped in Washington and the proverbial “politics as usual.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Widely known; famous; stereotypical."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "known",
          "known"
        ],
        [
          "famous",
          "famous"
        ],
        [
          "stereotypical",
          "stereotypical"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/pɹəˈvɜɹb.iː.əl/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/56/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/56/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "be",
      "lang": "Belarusian",
      "lang_code": "be",
      "roman": "prýkazkavy",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "пры́казкавы"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "roman": "poslovičen",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "пословичен"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "lang_code": "cs",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "příslovečný"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "lang_code": "eo",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "proverba"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "sananlaskumainen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "proverbial"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "sprichwörtlich"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "proverbial"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "lang_code": "el",
      "roman": "paroimiakós",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "παροιμιακός"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "proverbiale"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "lang_code": "la",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "prōverbiālis"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "proverbial"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "roman": "proverbiálʹnyj",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "провербиа́льный"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "roman": "poslóvičnyj",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "посло́вичный"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "proverbial"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "lang_code": "uk",
      "roman": "proverbiálʹnyj",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "провербіа́льний"
    },
    {
      "code": "cy",
      "lang": "Welsh",
      "lang_code": "cy",
      "sense": "of a proverb",
      "word": "diarhebol"
    },
    {
      "code": "be",
      "lang": "Belarusian",
      "lang_code": "be",
      "roman": "ahúlʹnavjadómy",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "агу́льнавядо́мы"
    },
    {
      "code": "be",
      "lang": "Belarusian",
      "lang_code": "be",
      "roman": "praslavúty",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "праславу́ты"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "lang_code": "bg",
      "roman": "obštoizvesten",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "общоизвестен"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "lang_code": "da",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "almenkendt"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "lang_code": "eo",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "proverba"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "tunnettu"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "maankuulu"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "kuuluisa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "proverbial"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "sprichwörtlich"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "lang_code": "el",
      "roman": "paroimiódis",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "παροιμιώδης"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "proverbiale"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "proverbial"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "roman": "obščeizvéstnyj",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "общеизве́стный"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "roman": "preslovútyj",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "преслову́тый"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "roman": "proverbiálʹnyj",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "провербиа́льный"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "proverbial"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "lang_code": "sv",
      "sense": "widely known; famous",
      "word": "allmänt känd"
    }
  ],
  "word": "proverbial"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms suffixed with -ial",
    "English undefined derivations",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 5 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Belarusian translations",
    "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
    "Terms with Czech translations",
    "Terms with Danish translations",
    "Terms with Esperanto translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Latin translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Terms with Ukrainian translations",
    "Terms with Welsh translations"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "prōverbiālis"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin prōverbiālis",
      "name": "uder"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "3": "-ial"
      },
      "expansion": "proverb + -ial",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Latin prōverbiālis, equivalent to proverb + -ial",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "proverbials",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "proverbial (plural proverbials)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English euphemisms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              42,
              52
            ]
          ],
          "text": "I think we should be prepared in case the proverbial hits the fan.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              19,
              29
            ]
          ],
          "text": "Are you taking the proverbial?",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to replace a word that might be considered unacceptable in a particular situation, when using a well-known phrase."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "unacceptable",
          "unacceptable"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(euphemistic) Used to replace a word that might be considered unacceptable in a particular situation, when using a well-known phrase."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "euphemistic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English euphemisms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              35,
              46
            ]
          ],
          "text": "You'll find they've got you by the proverbials.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The groin or the testicles."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "groin",
          "groin"
        ],
        [
          "testicle",
          "testicle"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(euphemistic, in the plural) The groin or the testicles."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "euphemistic",
        "in-plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/pɹəˈvɜɹb.iː.əl/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/56/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/56/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-proverbial.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "groin",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ],
      "word": "sukukalleudet"
    }
  ],
  "word": "proverbial"
}

Download raw JSONL data for proverbial meaning in English (12.4kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-09-09 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-09-02 using wiktextract (ccec6f1 and 4deed51). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.