Etymology

better late than never

Today it means: It is better to do something late, than to never do it at all. Full definition →

Latin potius sero quam numquam
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The story

  1. Latin · calque ofpotius sero quam numquam
  2. English todaybetter late than never

Perhaps a calque of Latin potius sero quam numquam from the 4th book of Ab Urbe condita (History of Rome) by Titus Livius, around 27 BC.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.