Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

beware of greeks bearing gifts

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.31 in modern English

Syllables: be-ware of -greek-s bear-ing gifts
IPA

46

Scrabble Score

26

Letters

5

Syllables

13

Unique Chars

Meaning

proverb

One should not trust one's enemies.

Etymology

Alludes to the ancient story of the Trojan horse, a gift for the Trojans which secretly contained Greeks. The prototype of the phrase is found in a Latin phrase in the Aeneid, book 2, lines 48–49: equō nē crēdite, Teucrī. / Quidquid id est, timeō Danaōs et dōna ferentēs. (“Do not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks, even bearing gifts.”)

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: -

Questions

What does beware of greeks bearing gifts mean?: One should not trust one's enemies.
Where does beware of greeks bearing gifts come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce beware of greeks bearing gifts

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