byspel

Meaning

An example.

Synonyms

expression

adage

aphorism

idiom

maxim

proverb

saying

Etymology

From Middle English byspel, bispel, from Old English biġspel, bīspel (“a proverb; pattern; example”), equivalent to by- + spell (“talk, saying, discourse, story”). Compare Scots byspel (“byword; rarety; outcast”), Saterland Frisian Biespil (“example; pattern”), Middle Dutch bijspel (“proverb; parable”), German Low German Bispill (“example”), German Beispiel (“example”).