proverbially

English

Etymology

From proverbial +‎ -ly.

Adverb

proverbially (comparative more proverbially, superlative most proverbially)

  1. In a manner that uses proverbs; in or according to proverbs.
    The bee is a proverbially busy creature.
    • 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 33:
      “Unless I am gravely in error you are yourself a very brave man, and brave men are proverbially magnanimous.”
  2. In a manner reminiscent of a proverb.
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