nothing ventured, nothing gained
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.25 in modern English
42
Scrabble Score
28
Letters
5
Syllables
12
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonyms: no guts, no glory; no pain, no gain"
- "Noght vēter noght haue spare to speke spare to spede"
- "Her husband was one of those unfortunate men, called speculators. He believed that to gain thousands, thousands must be put in jeopardy—“nothing ventured, nothing gained,” was his rule, and he practiced it to perfection."
- "Do not allow the danger of making a mistake to inhibit your initiative to the point of “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” It is much healthier to expect to make mistakes, take a few good risks now and then, and take your medicine when you lose."
Etymology
Attested since 1546 in a book of English proverbs by John Heywood (see quotation below). Perhaps translated from or influenced by French Qui onques rien n'enprist riens n'achieva (“One who never undertook anything never gained anything”). Though a translation, a similar phrase of "Nothing ventured, nothing have." appears in Sir George Dasent's translation of the Icelandic text "The Saga of the Burnt Njal" (events occurring between 960 and 1020 A.D.), suggesting it may have gone back much further. However, certain translations of Herodotus 7.9 include "if nothing is ventured in life, then nothing is gained". Suggesting either the phrase or something similar stretches to even before 960AD.