English Explanatory Dictionary

the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world

English dictionary entry

Meanings

proverb
  1. Women, particularly mothers, have a decisive influence on the future direction of society because they raise and nurture the next generation.

Word forms

the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world

Etymology

Found as a popular saying from 1840 (See Parent's Monitor and Young People's Friend Volume 1, p. 47 https://www.google.com/books/edition/Parent_s_Monitor_and_Young_People_s_Frie/wv8XAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22hand+that+rocks+the+cradle+rules%22&pg=PA47&printsec=frontcover); made famous by a poem (1865) by William Ross Wallace.

Related words

behind every successful man there stands a woman
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