Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

one swallow does not a summer make

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.84 in modern English

Syllables
one swal-low -does not a -sum-mer -make
IPA
45
Scrabble Score
28
Letters
6
Syllables
13
Unique Chars

Meaning

proverb

One instance of an event (such as the arrival of a single bird) does not necessarily indicate a trend.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Calque of Ancient Greek μία χελιδὼν ἔαρ οὐ ποιεῖ (mía khelidṑn éar ou poieî), part of a remark found in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (1098a18: “one swallow does not a spring make, nor one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy”), itself inspired by the fable The Young Man and the Swallow by Aesop. The proverb is an allusion to the migration of swallows to Europe during spring. The unexpected translation of ἔαρ (éar) (meaning "spring") as "summer" seen in English is also encountered in many other languages, such as Dutch een zwaluw maakt nog geen zomer and German eine Schwalbe macht noch keinen Sommer (note the descendants at the Ancient Greek entry). The unusual English word order (in use from circa 1920) may be intended to reflect the Greek word order, or it may be influenced by the line “Stone walls do not a prison make,” from To Althea, from Prison by Richard Lovelace (1642).

Phrases

X does not a Y make

Frequently Paired Words

X does not a Y make

Questions

What does one swallow does not a summer make mean?
One instance of an event (such as the arrival of a single bird) does not necessarily indicate a trend.
Where does one swallow does not a summer make come from?
Calque of Ancient Greek μία χελιδὼν ἔαρ οὐ ποιεῖ (mía khelidṑn éar ou poieî), part of a remark found in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (1098a18: “one swallow does not a spring make, nor one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy”), itself inspired by the fable The Young Man and the Swallow by Aesop. The proverb is an allusion to the migration of swallows to Europe during spring. The unexpected translation of ἔαρ (éar) (meaning "spring") as "summer" seen in English is also encountered in many other languages, such as Dutch een zwaluw maakt nog geen zomer and German eine Schwalbe macht noch keinen Sommer (note the descendants at the Ancient Greek entry). The unusual English word order (in use from circa 1920) may be intended to reflect the Greek word order, or it may be influenced by the line “Stone walls do not a prison make,” from To Althea, from Prison by Richard Lovelace (1642).

How to pronounce one swallow does not a summer make

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