Etymology

don't tread on me

Today it means: A slogan, associated during the American Revolutionary War with freedom from British rule, and in more recent years with libertarianism and anti-government sentiments. Full definition →

Late Latin nōlī mē tangere
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The story

  1. Late Latin · calque ofnōlī mē tangere
  2. English todaydon't tread on me

Calque of Late Latin nōlī mē tangere (literally “do not touch me”), from John 20:17 in the Bible. The phrase was initially rendered as dont tread on me, without apostrophe, as dont was then an accepted contraction of do not. In some later versions, due to standards for apostrophes becoming more strict since the 18th century, the first word was changed to don't.

Words from the same roots

Late Latinnōlī mē tangere all →

noli me tangere

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.