Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A saying in which the two members of a sentence are contrasted; an antithetical proverb.

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

  • noun obsolete A saying in which two members of the sentence are contrasted; an antithetical proverb.

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

  • noun obsolete A proverb or set expression.
  • noun obsolete A saying in which two members of the sentence are contrasted.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin diverbium the colloquial part of a comedy, dialogue.

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Examples

  • Durum et durum non faciunt murum, as the diverb is, two refractory spirits will never agree, the only means to overcome is to relent, obsequio vinces.

    Anatomy of Melancholy 2007

  • He that marries a wife out of a suspected inn or alehouse, buys a horse in Smithfield, and hires a servant in Paul's, as the diverb is, shall likely have a jade to his horse, a knave for his man, an arrant honest woman to his wife.

    Anatomy of Melancholy 2007

  • England is a paradise for women, and hell for horses: Italy a paradise for horses, hell for women, as the diverb goes.

    Anatomy of Melancholy 2007

  • By this means you may define ex ungue leonem, as the diverb is, by his thumb alone the bigness of

    Anatomy of Melancholy 2007

  • QUOTATION: England is a paradise for women and hell for horses; Italy a paradise for horses, hell for women, as the diverb goes.

    Quotations 1919

  • England is a paradise for women and hell for horses; Italy a paradise for horses, hell for women, as the diverb goes.

    Familiar Quotations A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature John Bartlett 1862

  • 76England is a paradise for women and hell for horses; Italy a paradise for horses, hell for women, as the diverb goes.

    Quotations 1919

  • 2177England is a paradise for women and hell for horses; Italy a paradise for horses, hell for women, as the diverb goes.

    Quotations 1919

Comments

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  • Ignite a spark by useful friction

    With symmetry in contradiction.

    Inspire or perturb

    By a clever diverb -

    An ancient tool of formal diction.

    July 10, 2016