forewarned is forearmed

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Possibly, although not certainly, from the Latin saying praemonitus praemunitus.[1]

Proverb

forewarned is forearmed

  1. Advance awareness of a situation, especially a risky one, prepares one to deal with it.
    • 1863, Charles Reade, chapter 4, in Hard Cash:
      [W]hatever a young gentleman of that age says to you, he says to many other ladies; but your experience is not equal to your sense; so profit by mine . . . forewarned is forearmed.
    • 1885, G. A. Henty, chapter 4, in Saint George for England:
      Sometimes, they say, it is wiser to remain in ignorance; at other times forewarned is forearmed.
    • c. 1903, Lucy Maud Montgomery, "Why Mr. Cropper Changed His Mind":
      "Well, Miss Maxwell, I think it only fair to tell you that you may have trouble with those boys when they do come. Forewarned is forearmed, you know."

Translations

See also

References
  1. Praemonitus Praemunitus was the title of a 1920 edition of the notorious anti-Semitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. See also www.phrases.org.uk which states: "There's no evidence to show that the English proverb is merely a translation of the Latin though. The two sayings could easily have originated independently."
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