Definition

to liken, i.e. (transitively) to use figurative language (an allegory, adage, song or the like); intransitively, to resemble

Etymology

denominative from H4912 (מָשָׁל);

Word family

• מָשָׁל mâshâl

How the KJV renders it

• be(-come) like
• compare
• use (as a) proverb
• speak (in proverbs)
• utter

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Hebrew term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.