English Explanatory Dictionary

once an adult, twice a child

English dictionary entry

Meanings

proverb
  1. One is born as a child, grows to adulthood, and consequently enters old age, when one deteriorates and reverts to a childlike state.

Word forms

once an adult, twice a child once an adult and twice a child

Etymology

Modern gender-neutralized form of once a man, twice a child (attested since the 16th century).

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on O Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary