one swallow does not a summer make

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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).

39 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Armenian: մի ծաղկով գարուն չի գա (mi caġkov garun čʻi ga) — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Bulgarian: 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 — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Chinese Mandarin: 一燕不成夏 (yīyànbùchéngxià) — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Chinese Mandarin: 孤燕不成夏 (gūyànbùchéngxià) — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Chinese Mandarin: 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 — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Danish: én svale gør ingen sommer — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Dutch: een zwaluw maakt nog geen lente — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Dutch: een zwaluw maakt nog geen zomer — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Dutch: één ooievaar maakt nog geen zomer — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Dutch: één zwaluw maakt de lente niet — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Esperanto: unu kukolo printempon ne venigas — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Finnish: ei yksi pääsky kesää tee — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• French: une hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Galician: unha anduriña soa non fai verán — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Georgian: ერთი ენძელა გაზაფხულს ვერ მოიყვანს (erti enʒela gazapxuls ver moiq̇vans) — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• German: eine Schwalbe macht noch keinen Sommer — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• German: einmal ist keinmal — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Greek: ένα χελιδόνι δεν φέρνει την άνοιξη (éna chelidóni den férnei tin ánoixi) — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Ancient Greek: μία χελιδὼν ἔαρ οὐ ποιεῖ (mía khelidṑn éar ou poieî) — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Hungarian: egy fecske nem csinál nyarat — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Italian: una rondine non fa primavera — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Korean: 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 — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Norwegian Nynorsk: ein svale gjer ingen sommar — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Polish: jedna jaskółka wiosny nie czyni — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Portuguese: uma andorinha só não faz verão — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Romanian: cu o floare nu se face primăvară — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Russian: 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 — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Serbo-Croatian: једна ласта не чини прољеће — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Serbo-Croatian: jedna lasta ne čini proljeće — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Slovak: jedna lastovička leto nerobí — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Spanish: una golondrina no hace verano — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Swedish: en svala gör ingen sommar — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Vietnamese: một con nhạn không làm nên mùa xuân — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Vietnamese: một con én không làm nên mùa xuân — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend
• Welsh: un wennol ni wna wanwyn — one instance of an event does not necessarily indicate a trend