Wellerism en · NOUN
Etymology
From Weller + -ism, after the character Sam Weller in Charles Dickens' 1836 novel The Pickwick Papers.
Meanings
-
A proverb, often a fatuous one, attributed to speaker in a situation.
Examples of Romance Wellerisms are rather infrequent in literature and must be gathered from oral tradition.
1939, The Modern Languages Forum, Volumes 24-25, Modern Language Association of Southern California, page 69:The Wellerism, which has its name from Sam Weller's use of many of them in Pickwick Papers, is much older than Dickens.
1994, Wolfgang Mieder, Alan Dundes, The Wisdom of Many: Essays on the Proverb, University of Wisconsin Press, page 8:An examination of recent literature for Wellerisms might prove productive.
1958, Midwest Folklore, Volume 8, Indiana University, page 160:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| wellerism | alternative | lexicographic | |
| Wellerisms | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (4)
de Wellerismus (proverb) · fi wellerismi (proverb) · it wellerismo (proverb) · de Sagwort (proverb)
wikipedia: Sam Weller (character) · wikipedia: Charles Dickens · wikipedia: The Pickwick Papers