proverb

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A short pithy saying in frequent and widespread use that expresses a basic truth or practical precept.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun A short pithy sentence, often repeated colloquially, expressing a well-known truth or a common fact ascertained by experience or observation; a popular saying which briefly and forcibly expresses some practical precept; an adage; a wise saw: often set forth in the guise of metaphor and in the form of rime, and sometimes alliterative.
• noun A byword; a reproach; an object of scorn or derision.
• noun In Scripture, an enigmatical utterance; a mysterious or oracular saying that requires interpretation.
• noun plural [capitalized] One of the books of the Old Testament, following the Book of Psalms. The full title is Proverbs of Solomon (i. 1).
• noun A dramatic composition in which some proverb or popular saying is taken as the foundation of the plot. Good examples are — “A Door must be either Open or Shut,” Alfred de Musset; “Still Water Runs Deep,”
• noun Synonyms Axiom, Maxim, etc. See aphorism.
• To utter in the form of a proverb; speak of proverbially; make a byword of.
• To provide with a proverb.
• To utter proverbs.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun An old and common saying; a phrase which is often repeated; especially, a sentence which briefly and forcibly expresses some practical truth, or the result of experience and observation; a maxim; a saw; an adage.
• noun A striking or paradoxical assertion; an obscure saying; an enigma; a parable.
• noun A familiar illustration; a subject of contemptuous reference.
• noun A drama exemplifying a proverb.
• noun a canonical book of the Old Testament, containing a great variety of wise maxims.
• transitive verb rare To name in, or as, a proverb.
• transitive verb rare To provide with a proverb.
• intransitive verb rare To write or utter proverbs.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A phrase expressing a basic truth which may be applied to common situations.
• verb To write or utter proverbs.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people