"make hay while the sun shines" meaning in English

See make hay while the sun shines in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: En-au-make hay while the sun shines.ogg [Australia] Forms: makes hay while the sun shines [present, singular, third-person], making hay while the sun shines [participle, present], made hay while the sun shone [participle, past], made hay while the sun shone [past]
Etymology: Hay harvest can be spoiled by wet weather. It is important that farmers seize the opportunity of dry weather for haymaking tasks (cutting, drying, gathering). Especially in medieval times, when forecasting the weather several days in advance was more difficult, it was all the more vital. Attested since 1546, originally a Tudor expression, and used figuratively since 1673. Head templates: {{en-verb|makes hay while the sun shines|making hay while the sun shines|made hay while the sun shone|head=make hay while the sun shines}} make hay while the sun shines (third-person singular simple present makes hay while the sun shines, present participle making hay while the sun shines, simple past and past participle made hay while the sun shone)
  1. (literal, agriculture) To make hay during favourable (dry) weather. Categories (topical): Agriculture Related terms: grasp the nettle, strike while the iron is hot, take time by the forelock
    Sense id: en-make_hay_while_the_sun_shines-en-verb-dFZQ1b6L Categories (other): English imperatives, English proverbs Disambiguation of English imperatives: 49 51 Disambiguation of English proverbs: 48 52 Topics: agriculture, business, lifestyle
  2. (idiomatic) To act while an opportunity exists; to take action while a situation is favorable. Tags: idiomatic Translations (act while an opportunity exists): pa'z eus avel eo gwentañ a zo d'ober (Breton), 趁熱打鐵 (Chinese Mandarin), 趁热打铁 (chènrèdǎtiě) (Chinese Mandarin), kuj železo, dokud je žhavé (Czech), het ijzer smeden als het heet is (Dutch), tao kun rauta on kuumaa (Finnish), battre le fer tant qu’il est chaud (French), das Eisen schmieden, so lange es heißt ist (German), στη βράση κολλάει το σίδερο (sti vrási kolláei to sídero) (Greek), बहती गंगा में हाथ धोना (bahtī gaṅgā mẽ hāth dhonā) (Hindi), addig üsd a vasat, amíg meleg (Hungarian), battere il ferro finché è caldo (Italian), 善は急げ (zen wa isoge) (alt: ぜんはいそげ) (Japanese), ນ້ຳຂຶ້ນໃຫ້ຮິບຕັກ (nam khưn hai hip tak) (Lao), железото се кове додека е жешко (železoto se kove dodeka e žeško) (Macedonian), sediakan payung sebelum hujan (Malay), kuć żelazo, póki gorące [imperfective] (Polish), aproveite a maré (Portuguese), куй желе́зо, пока́ горячо́ (kuj želézo, poká gorjačó) (Russian), buain am maorach nuair a tha an tràigh ann (Scottish Gaelic), ahora que hay modo (Spanish), la ocasión, la pintan calva (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-make_hay_while_the_sun_shines-en-verb-d79YxAGf Categories (other): English entries with language name categories using raw markup, English imperatives, English proverbs, English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys Disambiguation of English entries with language name categories using raw markup: 27 73 Disambiguation of English imperatives: 49 51 Disambiguation of English proverbs: 48 52 Disambiguation of English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 33 67 Disambiguation of 'act while an opportunity exists': 4 96

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for make hay while the sun shines meaning in English (7.4kB)

{
  "etymology_text": "Hay harvest can be spoiled by wet weather. It is important that farmers seize the opportunity of dry weather for haymaking tasks (cutting, drying, gathering). Especially in medieval times, when forecasting the weather several days in advance was more difficult, it was all the more vital. Attested since 1546, originally a Tudor expression, and used figuratively since 1673.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "makes hay while the sun shines",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "making hay while the sun shines",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "made hay while the sun shone",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "made hay while the sun shone",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "makes hay while the sun shines",
        "2": "making hay while the sun shines",
        "3": "made hay while the sun shone",
        "head": "make hay while the sun shines"
      },
      "expansion": "make hay while the sun shines (third-person singular simple present makes hay while the sun shines, present participle making hay while the sun shines, simple past and past participle made hay while the sun shone)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Agriculture",
          "orig": "en:Agriculture",
          "parents": [
            "Applied sciences",
            "Sciences",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "49 51",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English imperatives",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "48 52",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English proverbs",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make hay during favourable (dry) weather."
      ],
      "id": "en-make_hay_while_the_sun_shines-en-verb-dFZQ1b6L",
      "links": [
        [
          "agriculture",
          "agriculture"
        ],
        [
          "hay",
          "hay"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "literal",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(literal, agriculture) To make hay during favourable (dry) weather."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "75 25",
          "word": "grasp the nettle"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 25",
          "word": "strike while the iron is hot"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "75 25",
          "word": "take time by the forelock"
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        "agriculture",
        "business",
        "lifestyle"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "27 73",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "49 51",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English imperatives",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "48 52",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English proverbs",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2023 June 28, Ben Jones, “Are we getting rid of our (still useful) rolling stock too early?”, in RAIL, number 986, page 28",
          "text": "Until the mid-2010s, the ROSCOs 'made hay while the sun shone', taking advantage of growing passenger demand and expanding services to find homes for their rolling assets - in some cases, well beyond their expected design lives.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To act while an opportunity exists; to take action while a situation is favorable."
      ],
      "id": "en-make_hay_while_the_sun_shines-en-verb-d79YxAGf",
      "links": [
        [
          "act",
          "act"
        ],
        [
          "opportunity",
          "opportunity"
        ],
        [
          "exists",
          "exists"
        ],
        [
          "action",
          "action"
        ],
        [
          "situation",
          "situation"
        ],
        [
          "favorable",
          "favorable"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To act while an opportunity exists; to take action while a situation is favorable."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "br",
          "lang": "Breton",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "pa'z eus avel eo gwentañ a zo d'ober"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "趁熱打鐵"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "chènrèdǎtiě",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "趁热打铁"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "kuj železo, dokud je žhavé"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "het ijzer smeden als het heet is"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "tao kun rauta on kuumaa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "battre le fer tant qu’il est chaud"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "das Eisen schmieden, so lange es heißt ist"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "sti vrási kolláei to sídero",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "στη βράση κολλάει το σίδερο"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "roman": "bahtī gaṅgā mẽ hāth dhonā",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "बहती गंगा में हाथ धोना"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "addig üsd a vasat, amíg meleg"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "battere il ferro finché è caldo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "alt": "ぜんはいそげ",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "zen wa isoge",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "善は急げ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "lo",
          "lang": "Lao",
          "roman": "nam khưn hai hip tak",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "ນ້ຳຂຶ້ນໃຫ້ຮິບຕັກ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "mk",
          "lang": "Macedonian",
          "roman": "železoto se kove dodeka e žeško",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "железото се кове додека е жешко"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "sediakan payung sebelum hujan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "kuć żelazo, póki gorące"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "aproveite a maré"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "kuj želézo, poká gorjačó",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "куй желе́зо, пока́ горячо́"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "buain am maorach nuair a tha an tràigh ann"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "ahora que hay modo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
          "word": "la ocasión, la pintan calva"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-make hay while the sun shines.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/ff/En-au-make_hay_while_the_sun_shines.ogg/En-au-make_hay_while_the_sun_shines.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/En-au-make_hay_while_the_sun_shines.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "make hay while the sun shines"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
    "English imperatives",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English proverbs",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Hay harvest can be spoiled by wet weather. It is important that farmers seize the opportunity of dry weather for haymaking tasks (cutting, drying, gathering). Especially in medieval times, when forecasting the weather several days in advance was more difficult, it was all the more vital. Attested since 1546, originally a Tudor expression, and used figuratively since 1673.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "makes hay while the sun shines",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "making hay while the sun shines",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "made hay while the sun shone",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "made hay while the sun shone",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "makes hay while the sun shines",
        "2": "making hay while the sun shines",
        "3": "made hay while the sun shone",
        "head": "make hay while the sun shines"
      },
      "expansion": "make hay while the sun shines (third-person singular simple present makes hay while the sun shines, present participle making hay while the sun shines, simple past and past participle made hay while the sun shone)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "grasp the nettle"
    },
    {
      "word": "strike while the iron is hot"
    },
    {
      "word": "take time by the forelock"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Agriculture"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make hay during favourable (dry) weather."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "agriculture",
          "agriculture"
        ],
        [
          "hay",
          "hay"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "literal",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(literal, agriculture) To make hay during favourable (dry) weather."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "agriculture",
        "business",
        "lifestyle"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2023 June 28, Ben Jones, “Are we getting rid of our (still useful) rolling stock too early?”, in RAIL, number 986, page 28",
          "text": "Until the mid-2010s, the ROSCOs 'made hay while the sun shone', taking advantage of growing passenger demand and expanding services to find homes for their rolling assets - in some cases, well beyond their expected design lives.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To act while an opportunity exists; to take action while a situation is favorable."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "act",
          "act"
        ],
        [
          "opportunity",
          "opportunity"
        ],
        [
          "exists",
          "exists"
        ],
        [
          "action",
          "action"
        ],
        [
          "situation",
          "situation"
        ],
        [
          "favorable",
          "favorable"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To act while an opportunity exists; to take action while a situation is favorable."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-make hay while the sun shines.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/ff/En-au-make_hay_while_the_sun_shines.ogg/En-au-make_hay_while_the_sun_shines.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/En-au-make_hay_while_the_sun_shines.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "br",
      "lang": "Breton",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "pa'z eus avel eo gwentañ a zo d'ober"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "趁熱打鐵"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "chènrèdǎtiě",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "趁热打铁"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "kuj železo, dokud je žhavé"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "het ijzer smeden als het heet is"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "tao kun rauta on kuumaa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "battre le fer tant qu’il est chaud"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "das Eisen schmieden, so lange es heißt ist"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "sti vrási kolláei to sídero",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "στη βράση κολλάει το σίδερο"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "roman": "bahtī gaṅgā mẽ hāth dhonā",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "बहती गंगा में हाथ धोना"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "addig üsd a vasat, amíg meleg"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "battere il ferro finché è caldo"
    },
    {
      "alt": "ぜんはいそげ",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "zen wa isoge",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "善は急げ"
    },
    {
      "code": "lo",
      "lang": "Lao",
      "roman": "nam khưn hai hip tak",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "ນ້ຳຂຶ້ນໃຫ້ຮິບຕັກ"
    },
    {
      "code": "mk",
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "roman": "železoto se kove dodeka e žeško",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "железото се кове додека е жешко"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "sediakan payung sebelum hujan"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "kuć żelazo, póki gorące"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "aproveite a maré"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "kuj želézo, poká gorjačó",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "куй желе́зо, пока́ горячо́"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "buain am maorach nuair a tha an tràigh ann"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "ahora que hay modo"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "act while an opportunity exists",
      "word": "la ocasión, la pintan calva"
    }
  ],
  "word": "make hay while the sun shines"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-01 using wiktextract (fc4f0c7 and c937495). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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