Meanings
- One can never be sure of one's paternity.
"My mother," answered Telemachus, "tells me I am son to Ulysses, but it is a wise child that knows his own father.[…]"
1900, Homer, “Book I”, in Samuel Butler, transl., The Odyssey: Rendered into English Prose for the Use of Those who Cannot Read the Original, London: A[rthur] C. Fifield, →OCLC, page 61 more example
[Launcelot Gobbo]. Do you not know me Father? [Old] Gob[bo]. Alacke ſir, I am ſand blinde, I know you not. Lan.^([sic]) Nay, in deede if you had your eyes you might faile of the knowing me: it is a wiſe Father that knowes his own child.
[c. 1596–1598 (date written), W[illiam] Shakespeare, The Excellent History of the Merchant of Venice. […] (First Quarto), [London]: […] J[ames] Roberts [for Thomas Heyes], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], signature C2, verso
Origin
The expression itself is ancient, attested in Homer’s Odyssey: “μήτηρ μέν τέ μέ φησι τοῦ ἔμμεναι, αὐτὰρ ἐγώ γε οὐκ οἶδ’· οὐ γάρ πώ τις ἑὸν γόνον αὐτὸς ἀνέγνω”. A version, “it is a wise father that knows his own child” (spelling modernized), is used in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, and the modern version, in a translation of the Odyssey by Samuel Butler (see quotations), which likely popularized the proverb.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek μήτηρ μέν τέ μέ φησι τοῦ ἔμμεναι, αὐτὰρ ἐγώ γε οὐκ οἶδ’· οὐ γάρ πώ τις ἑὸν γόνον αὐτὸς ἀνέγνω
- μήτηρ μέν τέ μέ φησι τοῦ ἔμμεναιone can never be sure of one's paternity
- αὐτὰρ ἐγώ γε οὐκ οἶδ’· οὐ γάρ πώ τις ἑὸν γόνον αὐτὸς ἀνέγνω (mḗtēr mén té mé phēsi toû émmenai, autàr egṓ ge ouk oîd’; ou gár pṓ tis heòn gónon autòs anégnō)one can never be sure of one's paternity
Arabic إِنَّهُ لَوَلَدٌ حَكِيمٌ ذٰلِكَ الَّذِي يَعْرِفُ أَبَاه
- إِنَّهُ لَوَلَدٌ حَكِيمٌ ذٰلِكَ الَّذِي يَعْرِفُ أَبَاه (ʔinnahu la-waladun ḥakīmun ḏālika llaḏī yaʕrifu ʔabāh)one can never be sure of one's paternity
Chinese Mandarin 明智的兒童才知道自己的父親 /明智的儿童才知道自己的父亲
- 明智的兒童才知道自己的父親 /明智的儿童才知道自己的父亲 (míng zhì de ér tóng cái zhī dào zì jǐ de fù qīn)one can never be sure of one's paternity
Greek Η μάνα μου λέει πως είμαι γιος του, αλλά εγώ δεν ξέρω· γιατί κανένας δεν γνώρισε ποτέ μόνος του τον πατέρα του
- Η μάνα μου λέει πως είμαι γιος του, αλλά εγώ δεν ξέρω· γιατί κανένας δεν γνώρισε ποτέ μόνος του τον πατέρα του (I mána mou léei pos eímai gios tou, allá egó den xéro; giatí kanénas den gnórise poté mónos tou ton patéra tou)one can never be sure of one's paternity
Hindi वह बालक बुद्धिमान् है जो अपने पिता को पहचानता है
- वह बालक बुद्धिमान् है जो अपने पिता को पहचानता है (vah bālak buddhimān hai jo apne pitā ko pahcāntā hai)one can never be sure of one's paternity
Japanese 己の父を知る者は賢い子である
- 己の父を知る者は賢い子である (onore no chichi o shiru mono wa kashikoi ko de aru)one can never be sure of one's paternity
Latin sapiens est filius qui novit patrem suum
- sapiens est filius qui novit patrem suumone can never be sure of one's paternity
Cite this entry
it is a wise child that knows his own father. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/it%20is%20a%20wise%20child%20that%20knows%20his%20own%20father
“it is a wise child that knows his own father.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/it%20is%20a%20wise%20child%20that%20knows%20his%20own%20father. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “it is a wise child that knows his own father,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/it%20is%20a%20wise%20child%20that%20knows%20his%20own%20father.
Source: it is a wise child that knows his own father on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.