English Proverbs - What They Mean

What do you know about 50 English proverbs? First of all, they are called English proverbs because they express something about life in general and not specifically about English people, as is the case with sayings and proverbs. Proverbs are divided into two main categories: universal and specific. Universal proverbs express universal qualities and themes of life. Specific ones, on the other hand, express more specific themes and qualities.

English proverbs are divided by geographical region into two main sets: Old English and Modern English. According to specialists, there are approximately four thousand and six hundred Old English proverbs, including one each from Old Saxon, Middle English, and Modern English. The remaining fifty English proverbs are from Modern English. The following table shows the Old English word for each of the fifty English proverbs listed.

Class A - This group contains many important English proverbs. Class A proverbs include "the borrower is servant to the lender", "a borrower is master of his debt", "self-control is the best virtues", "a fault is better than a gift" and "ensure that your will be peace". These class notes indicate that borrowing money is a virtue, self-control is a vice, and that a fault is preferable to a gift. It is interesting to note that all these class notes are derived from the same root words, which are "to owe" and "to be master of".

Class B - This group contains some less common English proverbs. A few of the less common ones are "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and "pray for strength, for a shelter from cold". These can be seen as representative of traditional Islamic or Hindu religious or social teachings, as well as representative of traditional English, social proverbs.

Class C - This group consists of English proverbs with generic or abstract meanings. For example, the common proverb "A rich man may lose but a poor man can also win" is inclusive of both rich and poor. Modern day parsha's with similar generic meanings are "earnest money", "reap what you sow", "give when you can and sleep when you can't" and "learn to have faith in God".

Class D - This group contains only proverbs having unknown English meanings. An example of this would be "if there were no birds in the sky" which clearly suggests birds do exist, and therefore does not refer to any type of bird, such as a plane. The only known appropriate English meaning of this proverb is "if you have understanding in abundance, the clouds will not be a problem". This pdf proverbs list includes but is not limited to the following Urdu qasida's "the eye of a needle falls into the hand of a dove" (Arabic), "do not let evil find place in your heart" (Persian), "know the difference between right and wrong" (Christian), "a fat tree should not be clogged with fat" (Indian), and "a woman who has knowledge and good sense will never give birth to a curse".

All 50 English proverbs can be found in "Qur'an Allat Al-Fitr Islamic Proverbs", a popular edication published by the International Islamic University. However, it should be noted that while the authors of this book do provide a very convenient means to access a large number of such Arabic proverbs, they fail to specify their true meanings. The result is an overly generalized and erroneous translation, with many interpretations being used by Muslims and non-muslims alike with disastrous results. For this reason, we suggest that those who would use this book of Arabic proverbs on Urdu reread the materials provided by Dr. Zakir Naik's book" Dictionary of Modern Standard Arabic Language (Modern Standard Arabic Translation)". This work also provides us with access to the meanings of the many Arabic proverbs found in books such as "The Book of One Thousand Best Proverbs" by Abu Dhabi - Majestic Books (Doha, UAE).

Most important English proverbs are those that express obligation, such as "O man! know thyself", "oughtiness" and "have the courage". Some other forms of Arabic proverbs include "God is great" (Khalistani), "God is high" (Kurdish), "he who fears God wins battle" (Sikh) and "there is nothing greater than a man". It should be noted that all of these forms of Arabic proverbs are derived from and are therefore true statements about the universe.