Meanings
- One instance of an event (such as the arrival of a single bird) does not necessarily indicate a trend.
One swallow does not a summer make, nor one onion a spring garden.
1921 April 4, “Smile a While”, in The Day, retrieved 29 Nov 2011, page 63 more examples
[T]hough one swallow does not make a summer, one engagement is apt to make several, and her boys were, most of them, at the inflammable age when a spark ignites the flame[.]
1886, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, chapter 9, in Jo’s Boys, and How They Turned Out. A Sequel to “Little Men.”, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLCOne swallow does not a summer make and one football game doesn't make a season.
1969 September 19, Bob Johnson, “Sports: September Madness”, in Spokane Daily Chronicle, page 15Added one Western diplomat: "Aquino's success undoubtedly weakens the Communists' appeal to the so-called mass base. But one swallow does not a summer make."
2001 June 24, Susan Tifft, “The Philippines: Now the Hard Part”, in Time, archived from the original on 12 Aug 2009
Origin
- Ancient Greekμία χελιδὼν ἔαρ οὐ ποιεῖ
- Englishone swallow does not a summer make
Calque of Ancient Greek μία χελιδὼν ἔαρ οὐ ποιεῖ (mía khelidṑn éar ou poieî), part of a remark found in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (1098a18: “one swallow does not a spring make, nor one fine day; similarly one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy”), itself inspired by the fable The Young Man and the Swallow by Aesop. The proverb is an allusion to the migration of swallows to Europe during spring. The unexpected translation of ἔαρ (éar) (meaning "spring") as "summer" seen in English is also encountered in many other languages, such as Dutch een zwaluw maakt nog geen zomer and German eine Schwalbe macht noch keinen Sommer (note the descendants at the Ancient Greek entry). The unusual English word order (in use from circa 1920) may be intended to reflect the Greek word order, or it may be influenced by the line “Stone walls do not a prison make,” from To Althea, from Prison by Richard Lovelace (1642).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek μία χελιδὼν ἔαρ οὐ ποιεῖ
- μία χελιδὼν ἔαρ οὐ ποιεῖ (mía khelidṑn éar ou poieî)one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Bulgarian една птичка пролет не прави
- една птичка пролет не прави (edna ptička prolet ne pravi)one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Catalan una flor no fa estiu
- una flor no fa estiuone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Chinese Mandarin 一燕不成夏, 孤燕不成夏
- 一燕不成夏 (yīyànbùchéngxià)one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
- 孤燕不成夏 (gūyànbùchéngxià)one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
- 獨燕不成夏 /独燕不成夏 (dúyānbùchéngxià)one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Czech jedna vlaštovka jaro nedělá
- jedna vlaštovka jaro neděláone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Danish én svale gør ingen sommer
- én svale gør ingen sommerone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Dutch een zwaluw maakt nog geen lente, een zwaluw maakt nog geen zomer
- een zwaluw maakt nog geen lenteone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
- een zwaluw maakt nog geen zomerone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
- één ooievaar maakt nog geen zomerone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
- één zwaluw maakt de lente nietone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Esperanto unu kukolo printempon ne venigas
- unu kukolo printempon ne venigasone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Finnish ei yksi pääsky kesää tee
- ei yksi pääsky kesää teeone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
French une hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps
- une hirondelle ne fait pas le printempsone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
German eine Schwalbe macht noch keinen Sommer, einmal ist keinmal
- eine Schwalbe macht noch keinen Sommerone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
- einmal ist keinmalone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Greek ένα χελιδόνι δεν φέρνει την άνοιξη
- ένα χελιδόνι δεν φέρνει την άνοιξη (éna chelidóni den férnei tin ánoixi)one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Hungarian egy fecske nem csinál nyarat
- egy fecske nem csinál nyaratone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Italian una rondine non fa primavera
- una rondine non fa primaveraone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Korean 한 마리의 제비가 왔다고 봄이 온 것은 아니다
- 한 마리의 제비가 왔다고 봄이 온 것은 아니다 (han mari-ui jebi-ga watdago bom-i on geos-eun anida)one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Norwegian Bokmål én svale gjør ingen sommer
- én svale gjør ingen sommerone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Polish jedna jaskółka wiosny nie czyni
- jedna jaskółka wiosny nie czynione instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Portuguese uma andorinha só não faz verão
- uma andorinha só não faz verãoone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Romanian cu o floare nu se face primăvară
- cu o floare nu se face primăvarăone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Russian пе́рвая ла́сточка весны́ не де́лает
- пе́рвая ла́сточка весны́ не де́лает (pérvaja lástočka vesný ne délajet)one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Scottish Gaelic cha dèan aon smeòrach samhradh
- cha dèan aon smeòrach samhradhone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Slovak jedna lastovička leto nerobí
- jedna lastovička leto nerobíone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Spanish una golondrina no hace verano
- una golondrina no hace veranoone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Swedish en svala gör ingen sommar
- en svala gör ingen sommarone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Vietnamese một con nhạn không làm nên mùa xuân, một con én không làm nên mùa xuân
- một con nhạn không làm nên mùa xuânone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
- một con én không làm nên mùa xuânone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Welsh un wennol ni wna wanwyn
- un wennol ni wna wanwynone instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
Cite this entry
one swallow does not a summer make. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one%20swallow%20does%20not%20a%20summer%20make
“one swallow does not a summer make.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one%20swallow%20does%20not%20a%20summer%20make. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “one swallow does not a summer make,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/one%20swallow%20does%20not%20a%20summer%20make.
Source: one swallow does not a summer make on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.