the pen is mightier than the sword en · X
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
This phrasing due to Bulwer-Lytton, 1839. The sentiment is traditional, and has many antecedents; see Wikipedia.
Meanings
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(idiomatic, metonymically) More influence and power can be usurped by writing than by fighting.
If the pen is mightier than the sword in American history, it is more likely the pen of a novelist than the typewriter of a reporter — Harriet Beecher Stowe stimulating antislavery sentiment or Upton Sinclair enlisting citizens in outrage against the food-processing industry.
1982, Michael Schudson, The Power of News, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 142:If my teachers had not told me that the pen is mightier than the sword, if my parents had not told me that I have to respect books, I would not have developed that respect for knowledge.
2011, Qazi Nasir Uddin, Ph.D., The Other Side, Author House, page 108
Antonyms
actions speak louder than words
Hyponyms
the tongue wounds more than a lance
Translations (28)
es la pluma es más poderosa que la espada (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · fi kynä on miekkaa mahtavampi (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · az qələm qılıncdan itidir (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · cmn 笔胜于剑 (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · da pennen er mægtigere end sværdet (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · az qələm yazanı qılınc poza bilməz (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · ja ペンは剣よりも強し (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · nb pennen er mektigere enn sverdet (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · sv pennan är mäktigare än svärdet (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · de die Feder ist mächtiger als die Klinge (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · pt a pena é mais forte do que a espada (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · pl pióro jest silniejsze od miecza (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · eo plumo estas pli potenca ol spado (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · my ဓားသွားထက် ကလောင်သွားထက် (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · fr la plume est plus forte que l’épée (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · pt a pena é mais forte que a espada (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · nn pennen er mektigare enn sverdet (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · te కత్తి కన్నా కలం మిన్న (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · th ปากกาคมกว่าดาบ (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · az qələm qılıncdan kəsərlidir (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · la cedant arma togae (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · it ne uccide più la penna della spada (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · it la penna ferisce più della spada (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · cmn 文勝於武，筆勝於劍 /文胜于武 (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · et sõna vägi on suurem kui sõjavägi (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · az qələm qılıncdan kəskindir (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · tr kalem kılıçtan keskindir (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting) · el η γλώσσα κόκαλα δεν έχει μα κόκαλα τσακίζει (more power can be usurped by writing than fighting)