proverbium

Latin

Etymology

Derived from prō- (“for, on behalf of”) +‎ verbum (“word”) +‎ -ium (“nominal suffix”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /proːˈu̯er.bi.um/, [proːˈu̯ɛrbiʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /proˈver.bi.um/, [proˈvɛrbium]

Noun

prōverbium n (genitive prōverbiī or prōverbī); second declension

1. proverb, saying, saw, maxim, adage

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	prōverbium	prōverbia
Genitive	prōverbiī prōverbī1	prōverbiōrum
Dative	prōverbiō	prōverbiīs
Accusative	prōverbium	prōverbia
Ablative	prōverbiō	prōverbiīs
Vocative	prōverbium	prōverbia

¹Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Descendants

• Catalan: proverbi
• Old French: proverbe
  • → English: proverb
  • French: proverbe
• Italian: proverbio
• Portuguese: provérbio
• Romanian: proverb
• Spanish: proverbio

References

• “proverbium”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “proverbium”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• proverbium in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • as the proverb says: ut est in proverbio
    
  • to pass into a proverb: in proverbii consuetudinem or simply in proverbium venire
    
  • to be used as a proverb: proverbii locum obtinere (Tusc. 4. 16. 36)
    
  • this is a proverb among the Greeks: hoc est Graecis hominibus in proverbio
    
  • that Greek proverb contains an excellent lesson: bene illo Graecorum proverbio praecipitur
    
  • an old proverb tells us not to..: vetamur vetere proverbio
    
  • an old proverb which every one knows: proverbium vetustate or sermone tritum (vid. sect. II. 3, note tritus...)
    
• “proverbium”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers