forewarned is forearmed
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Possibly, although not certainly, from the Latin saying praemonitus praemunitus.[1]
Proverb
- Advance awareness of a situation, especially a risky one, prepares one to deal with it.
- 1863, Charles Reade, chapter 4, in Hard Cash:
- [W]hatever a young gentleman of that age says to you, he says to many other ladies; but your experience is not equal to your sense; so profit by mine . . . forewarned is forearmed.
- 1885, G. A. Henty, chapter 4, in Saint George for England:
- Sometimes, they say, it is wiser to remain in ignorance; at other times forewarned is forearmed.
- c. 1903 Lucy Maud Montgomery, "Why Mr. Cropper Changed His Mind":
- "Well, Miss Maxwell, I think it only fair to tell you that you may have trouble with those boys when they do come. Forewarned is forearmed, you know."
Translations
proverb
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See also
References
- ^ Praemonitus Praemunitus was the title of a 1920 edition of the notorious anti-Semitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. See also www.phrases.org.uk which states: "There's no evidence to show that the English proverb is merely a translation of the Latin though. The two sayings could easily have originated independently."