Proverbial

How to spell proverbial

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce proverbial

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does proverbial mean?

1. adjectiveWidely referred to or so well known as to be almost a saying.

Proverbial in a sentence

• After weeks of searching, the missing file felt like the proverbial needle in a haystack.

• His proverbial patience finally ran out during the long delay.

Where does proverbial come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This adjective traces back to the Latin proverbium, meaning 'a common saying' or 'an old maxim', which was built from pro 'forth, before' and verbum 'word', so the literal idea was words 'put forth' for everyone to repeat. Latin proverbium passed into Old French as proverbe before entering English in the late 1300s as the noun 'proverb', a short, well known piece of folk wisdom. The adjective 'proverbial' followed, describing anything famous enough to be spoken of in a proverb or widely referred to in conversation. Over time it broadened to mean simply 'well known' or 'often talked about', as in 'the proverbial needle in a haystack'. The hidden 'verb' inside the word is the useful spelling anchor: the same verbum root that gives us 'verbal', 'verbose', and 'verbatim' sits right in the middle of proverbial.

How the word is built

• pro- (forth, before)
• verb (from Latin verbum: word)
• -ial (adjective suffix)