proverbially
1
7.0
- adverb
- /prəˈvɜːrbɪəli/
:
proverbialmente
- After all, these familiar, intimate sources of information were the only ones that a proverbially suspicious and parochial people were likely to trust.
And so instead of saying let's slow down, you throw yourself all in, ignore the red flags and proverbially test the water with two feet.
- And so instead of saying let's slow down, you throw yourself all in, ignore the red flags and proverbially test the water with two feet.
Examples
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Proverbially, he loved the sound of his own voice.
Academic text (2017) -
Pioneer Courthouse Square is proverbially "Portland's Living Room," and who doesn't eat in their living room?
Blog text (26) -
And as they say, he lived in proverbially interesting times.
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There are times when a team loses a game, and it very well appears that the coach has proverbially lost his team.
Blog text (18) -
Many thought he would be tackling that now while the iron is proverbially hot.
Blog text (13) -
The Chinese are proverbially patient, and they must be looking on with glee.
Blog text (2) -
We're going to, you know, proverbially bury the hatchet and we're going to be allies now.
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Even the proverbially hardworking Germans spend only about three-quarters as many hours on the job and retire younger.
Academic text (2004) -
Western thinkers have proverbially described intellect and intuition as separate faculties.
Academic text (2000) -
And as they say, he lived in proverbially interesting times.
How Common
Surface Forms
Morphology
proverbially = proverbial (transparent) = proverb + ial + ly
Formed by the regular denominal adjective 'proverbial' plus the adverbial suffix '-ly', so the manner meaning is directly derived.
Etymology
Proverbially comes from the word proverb, which itself comes from parts pro- 'forward' and verbum 'word', plus the ending -ly meaning 'in a way'. A proverb is a short, well-known saying, so proverbially means 'in the way of a common saying' or 'as people usually say', which is why we use it when something is commonly known or expected.