μία χελιδὼν ἔαρ οὐ ποιεῖ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From μία (mía, “one”) + χελῑδὼν (khelīdṑn, “swallow”) + ἔαρ (éar, “spring”) + οὐ (ou, “not”) + ποιεῖ (poieî, “make”), a remark found in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (1098a18: “one swallow does not a summer 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.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /mí.a kʰe.liː.dɔ̀ːn é.ar uː poi̯.êː/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.a kʰe.liˈdon ˈe.ar u pyˈi/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.a çe.liˈðon ˈe.ar u pyˈi/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.a çe.liˈðon ˈe.ar u pyˈi/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.a çe.liˈðon ˈe.ar u piˈi/

Proverb

μίᾰ χελῑδὼν ἔᾰρ οὐ ποιεῖ • (mía khelīdṑn éar ou poieî)

one swallow does not a summer make

Descendants

Greek: ένα χελιδόνι δεν φέρνει την άνοιξη (éna chelidóni den férnei tin ánoixi)
English: one swallow does not a summer make (see there for further translations)
- Chinese: 一燕不成夏 (yīyànbùchéngxià)
- French: une hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps
- German: eine Schwalbe macht noch keinen Sommer
- Italian: una rondine non fa primavera
- Korean: 한 마리의 제비가 왔다고 봄이 온 것은 아니다 (han mariui jebiga watdago bomi on geoseun anida)
- Portuguese: uma andorinha só não faz verão
- Russian: пе́рвая ла́сточка весны́ не де́лает (pérvaja lástočka vesný ne délajet)
- Spanish: una golondrina no hace verano

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