Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:
(for a word). Wise utterance; enigma (Num. 21:27). The proverbs, collected and poetically arranged by Solomon, or by his authority, constitute the twentieth O. T. book.
Concise Bible Dictionary:
The word chidah is once translated “proverb” (Hab. 2:6); but is often translated “riddle.” It signifies “problem,” a hidden mode of speaking, which conceals the sense under figurative expressions. The parable of the great eagle in Ezekiel 17:2-3, is also called a “riddle.” The word commonly translated “proverb,” and used for the Book of Proverbs is mashal, signifying “comparison, similitude.” Proverbs are short sentences calculated to arrest attention and be retained in the memory (Deut. 28:37; 1 Sam. 24:13; Psalm 69:11; Prov. 1:1; Eccl. 12:9; Isa. 14:4; Jer. 24:9; Ezek. 12:22-23; Ezek. 18:2-3, etc.). In the New Testament are the words
1. παραβολή, “a similitude, comparison.” In the AV this is only once translated “proverb” (Luke 4:23); but is often translated “parable.”
2. παροιμία. This is more an obscure saying (John 16:25,29; 2 Peter 2:22): it is translated “parable” in John 10:6, but “allegory” would be a better rendering.