Proverb vs Idiot - What's the difference?
proverb | idiot |
A phrase expressing a basic truth which may be applied to common situations.
A striking or paradoxical assertion; an obscure saying; an enigma; a parable.
* Bible, John xvi. 29
A familiar illustration; a subject of contemptuous reference.
* Bible, Deuteronomy xxviii. 37
A drama exemplifying a proverb.
To write or utter proverbs.
To name in, or as, a proverb.
* 1671 , John Milton, Samson Agonistes , lines 203-205:
To provide with a proverb.
* Shakespeare
(pejorative) A person of low general intelligence.
(obsolete, medicine, psychology) A person who lacks the capacity to develop beyond the mental age of a normal four-year-old.
As nouns the difference between proverb and idiot
is that proverb is a phrase expressing a basic truth which may be applied to common situations while idiot is (slang|derogatory) a proponent of intelligent design.As a verb proverb
is to write or utter proverbs.proverb
English
(wikipedia proverb)Noun
(en noun)- His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb .
- Thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb , and a by word, among all nations.
Synonyms
* (phrase expressing a basic truth) adage, apothegm, byword, maxim, paroemia, saw, saying, sententia * See alsoDerived terms
* proverbial * proverbiology * proverbs hunt in pairsVerb
(en verb)- Am I not sung and proverbed for a fool / In every street, do they not say, "How well / Are come upon him his deserts?"
- I am proverbed with a grandsire phrase.
See also
* ----idiot
English
Alternative forms
* eejit * idjit, idget (eye dialect)Noun
(en noun)- usage note This may be used pejoratively, as an insult. It is a weak insult, however, and between close friends, family members, or lovers, is often completely nonaggressive.