Etymology

man proposes, God disposes

Today it means: Things do not always work out as they are planned. Full definition →

Medieval Latin homo proponit, sed Deus disponit
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The story

  1. Medieval Latin · calque ofhomo proponit, sed Deus disponit
  2. English todayman proposes, God disposes

Calque of Medieval Latin homo proponit, sed Deus disponit, coined in Thomas à Kempis's De Imitatione Christi.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.