"proverbially" meaning in English

See proverbially in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adverb

Forms: more proverbially [comparative], most proverbially [superlative]
Etymology: Etymology tree English proverbial Middle English -ly English -ly English proverbially From proverbial + -ly. Etymology templates: {{ety|en|:af|proverbial|-ly<id:adverbial>|text=+|tree=1}} Etymology tree English proverbial Middle English -ly English -ly English proverbially [Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from", "keyword" : "inherited" } ], "status" : "ok", "lang_name" : "English", "term" : "-ly", "lang" : "en" } ], "keyword_label" : "From", "is_group" : true, "keyword" : "affix" } ], "lang_name" : "English", "term" : "proverbially", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "en" }" data-lang="en" data-title="proverbially"> From proverbial + -ly. Head templates: {{en-adv}} proverbially (comparative more proverbially, superlative most proverbially)
  1. In a manner that uses proverbs; in or according to proverbs.
    Sense id: en-proverbially-en-adv-EY5COkGr Categories (other): English entries referencing missing etymons, English entries with etymology texts, English entries with etymology trees, English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -ly (adverbial), Pages using etymon with no ID, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Pages with etymology trees Disambiguation of English entries referencing missing etymons: 58 42 Disambiguation of English entries with etymology texts: 58 42 Disambiguation of English entries with etymology trees: 58 42 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 58 42 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ly (adverbial): 55 45 Disambiguation of Pages using etymon with no ID: 61 39 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 58 42 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 58 42 Disambiguation of Pages with etymology trees: 58 42
  2. In a manner reminiscent of a proverb.
    Sense id: en-proverbially-en-adv-R4eJiIOA Categories (other): English terms suffixed with -ly (adverbial) Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ly (adverbial): 55 45
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: proverb, proverbial
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        "text": "+",
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      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nEnglish proverbial\nMiddle English -ly\nEnglish -ly\nEnglish proverbially\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ly\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"proverbially\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"proverbially\">\nFrom proverbial + -ly.",
      "name": "ety"
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  "etymology_text": "Etymology tree\nEnglish proverbial\nMiddle English -ly\nEnglish -ly\nEnglish proverbially\nFrom proverbial + -ly.",
  "forms": [
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      "form": "more proverbially",
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    {
      "form": "most proverbially",
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        "superlative"
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  "head_templates": [
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      "expansion": "proverbially (comparative more proverbially, superlative most proverbially)",
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "proverb"
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      "_dis1": "0 0",
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        {
          "_dis": "61 39",
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
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              13,
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          ],
          "text": "The bee is a proverbially busy creature.",
          "type": "example"
        },
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          ],
          "ref": "1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 33:",
          "text": "“Unless I am gravely in error you are yourself a very brave man, and brave men are proverbially magnanimous.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
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      ],
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      "glosses": [
        "In a manner reminiscent of a proverb."
      ],
      "id": "en-proverbially-en-adv-R4eJiIOA"
    }
  ],
  "word": "proverbially"
}
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    "English entries with etymology trees",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
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    "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *leyg- (like)",
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      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nEnglish proverbial\nMiddle English -ly\nEnglish -ly\nEnglish proverbially\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ly\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"proverbially\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"proverbially\">\nFrom proverbial + -ly.",
      "name": "ety"
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  ],
  "etymology_text": "Etymology tree\nEnglish proverbial\nMiddle English -ly\nEnglish -ly\nEnglish proverbially\nFrom proverbial + -ly.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more proverbially",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most proverbially",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adv",
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    {
      "word": "proverb"
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    {
      "word": "proverbial"
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        "In a manner that uses proverbs; in or according to proverbs."
      ],
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    {
      "glosses": [
        "In a manner reminiscent of a proverb."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "proverbially"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-06-12 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-06-01 using wiktextract (e79dea5 and 7f4db16). 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.