Etymology

trust, but verify

Today it means: One should have general faith in the benevolent intentions of others, but ultimately one can only rely on things that have been verified. Full definition →

Russian доверя́й, но проверя́й
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The story

  1. Russian · calque ofдоверя́й, но проверя́й
  2. English todaytrust, but verify

Calque of Russian доверя́й, но проверя́й (doverjáj, no proverjáj). Often attributed to Vladimir Lenin, although no written evidence exists. Popularized in English by Ronald Reagan in the context of nuclear disarmament.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.