proverb
Traditional pithy saying
A proverb is a short, memorable saying that expresses a general truth or piece of advice: A stitch in time saves nine, The early bird catches the worm.
Proverbs are passed down through generations and often employ vivid imagery or wordplay.
They differ from idioms in that their meaning is usually transparent from the words themselves.
Traditional pithy truth
- maximBrief moral principle
- aphorismTerse general truth
- axiomSelf-evident starting principle
- dictumAuthoritative formal statement
truism · epigram · apothegm · gnome · saw · byword · precept · platitude
Study of right conduct
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
- lessonUnit of teaching
- righteousnessMoral correctness or virtue
- principleFundamental truth or standard
justice · integrity · teaching · precept · truth · conduct · honesty · value
Moral tale with animals
- parableInstructive allegorical narrative
- taleSpoken or written narrative
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
lore · oral tradition · folk wisdom · old saw · cultural heritage · storytelling · allegory · trickster tale
Deep perceptive understanding
- sagacityPenetrating mental acuity
- prudenceCareful, wise judgment
- discernmentKeen perception and judgment
- understandingMental comprehension of something
foresight · judgment · enlightenment · common sense · experience · learning · perception · counsel
Implied identity comparison
- analogyExplanatory likeness between things
- parallelismMatching structural elements
- repetitionAct of redoing
- brevityShortness of expression
imagery · antithesis · chiasmus · wordplay · paradox · irony · hyperbole · alliteration
adage
Traditional pithy truth
dictum · truism · epigram · apothegm · gnome · saw · byword · precept · platitude · bromide
ethics
Study of right conduct
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
- lessonUnit of teaching
- righteousnessMoral correctness or virtue
principle · justice · integrity · teaching · precept · truth · conduct · honesty · value · goodness
fable
Moral tale with animals
- parableInstructive allegorical narrative
- taleSpoken or written narrative
- legendUnverified traditional tale
myth · lore · oral tradition · folk wisdom · old saw · cultural heritage · storytelling · allegory · trickster tale
insight
Deep perceptive understanding
- sagacityPenetrating mental acuity
- prudenceCareful, wise judgment
- discernmentKeen perception and judgment
understanding · foresight · judgment · enlightenment · common sense · experience · learning · perception · counsel · guidance
metaphor
Implied identity comparison
- analogyExplanatory likeness between things
- parallelismMatching structural elements
- repetitionAct of redoing
brevity · imagery · antithesis · chiasmus · wordplay · paradox · irony · hyperbole · alliteration · rhyme
biblical
Of sacred texts
- vocabularyword, words, new words, term, terms
- Cultural Referencesmeme, catchphrase, movie quote, song lyric, famous line
- folkfolk song, folk tale, folk hero, folk costume, folk remedy
- folk wisdomfolklore, folk sayings, saying, traditional lore, adage
- wisdomwisdom, sagacity, sapience, discernment, insight
- ancient wisdomVedas, Upanishads, maxim, Epicureanism, adage
- proverbial wisdomKnowledge in traditional sayings
- old proverb
- ancient proverbsVenerable traditional sayings
- traditional proverbsTime-tested folk sayings
- proverbial sayingsTraditional expressions of wisdom
- African proverbsTraditional African sayings