See might makes right in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for might makes right meaning in English (4.5kB)
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"expansion": "Inherited",
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"2": "enm",
"3": "might is right",
"4": "",
"5": "",
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},
"expansion": "Middle English might is right",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
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"3": "might is right"
},
"expansion": "Inherited from Middle English might is right",
"name": "inh+"
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{
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"nocap": "1"
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"expansion": "first attested in the 14th century.",
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],
"etymology_text": "Inherited from Middle English might is right, first attested in the 14th century. The concept is expressed by various classical authors; a similar argument is notably attributed to Thrasymachus by Plato in the Republic 340a (in Paul Shorey’s translation, “the advantage of the stronger is just”).",
"head_templates": [
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"args": {
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"2": "proverb"
},
"expansion": "might makes right",
"name": "head"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "proverb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English proverbs",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Japanese terms with redundant script codes",
"parents": [
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"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"glosses": [
"What is right or wrong is determined by power and strength; power justifies itself."
],
"id": "en-might_makes_right-en-proverb-nAM-Z0HA",
"links": [
[
"right",
"right"
],
[
"wrong",
"wrong"
],
[
"power",
"power"
],
[
"strength",
"strength"
],
[
"justifies",
"justify"
]
],
"related": [
{
"word": "argumentum ad baculum"
},
{
"word": "history is written by the victors"
},
{
"word": "kratocracy"
},
{
"word": "kraterocracy"
},
{
"word": "the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must"
},
{
"word": "vae victis"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "might is right"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "成王敗寇"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "chéngwángbàikòu",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "成王败寇"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "成者為王，敗者為寇"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "成者为王"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "chéng zhě wéi wáng, bài zhě wéi kòu",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "败者为寇"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "vahvin määrää"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "la raison du plus fort est toujours la meilleure"
},
{
"code": "hi",
"lang": "Hindi",
"roman": "jiskī lāṭhī uskī bha͠is",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "जिसकी लाठी उसकी भैंस"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "la ragione sta dalla parte dei forti"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "kateba kangun, makereba zokugun",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "勝てば官軍負ければ賊軍"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"note": "no equivalent term in Polish",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "but see kto bogatemu zabroni"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "manda quem pode, obedece quem tem juízo"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "kto silʹneje, tot i prav",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "кто сильнее, тот и прав"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"english": "proverb",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "tko jači, taj kvači"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "la fuerza hace el derecho"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "thắng làm vua, thua làm giặc"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Paul Shorey",
"Plato",
"Republic (Plato)",
"Thrasymachus",
"might makes right"
]
}
],
"word": "might makes right"
}
{
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"args": {
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"expansion": "Inherited",
"name": "glossary"
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{
"args": {
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"3": "might is right",
"4": "",
"5": "",
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},
"expansion": "Middle English might is right",
"name": "inh"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "might is right"
},
"expansion": "Inherited from Middle English might is right",
"name": "inh+"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "14th century"
},
"expansion": "the 14th century",
"name": "etydate/the"
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{
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"1": "14th century",
"nocap": "1"
},
"expansion": "first attested in the 14th century.",
"name": "etydate"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Inherited from Middle English might is right, first attested in the 14th century. The concept is expressed by various classical authors; a similar argument is notably attributed to Thrasymachus by Plato in the Republic 340a (in Paul Shorey’s translation, “the advantage of the stronger is just”).",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
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},
"expansion": "might makes right",
"name": "head"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "proverb",
"related": [
{
"word": "argumentum ad baculum"
},
{
"word": "history is written by the victors"
},
{
"word": "kratocracy"
},
{
"word": "kraterocracy"
},
{
"word": "the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must"
},
{
"word": "vae victis"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English proverbs",
"English rhyming phrases",
"English terms derived from Middle English",
"English terms inherited from Middle English",
"Japanese terms with redundant script codes"
],
"glosses": [
"What is right or wrong is determined by power and strength; power justifies itself."
],
"links": [
[
"right",
"right"
],
[
"wrong",
"wrong"
],
[
"power",
"power"
],
[
"strength",
"strength"
],
[
"justifies",
"justify"
]
],
"wikipedia": [
"Paul Shorey",
"Plato",
"Republic (Plato)",
"Thrasymachus",
"might makes right"
]
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "might is right"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "成王敗寇"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "chéngwángbàikòu",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "成王败寇"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "成者為王，敗者為寇"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "成者为王"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "chéng zhě wéi wáng, bài zhě wéi kòu",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "败者为寇"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "vahvin määrää"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "la raison du plus fort est toujours la meilleure"
},
{
"code": "hi",
"lang": "Hindi",
"roman": "jiskī lāṭhī uskī bha͠is",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "जिसकी लाठी उसकी भैंस"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "la ragione sta dalla parte dei forti"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "kateba kangun, makereba zokugun",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "勝てば官軍負ければ賊軍"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"note": "no equivalent term in Polish",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "but see kto bogatemu zabroni"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "manda quem pode, obedece quem tem juízo"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "kto silʹneje, tot i prav",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "кто сильнее, тот и прав"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"english": "proverb",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "tko jači, taj kvači"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "la fuerza hace el derecho"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "morality cannot question the powerful",
"word": "thắng làm vua, thua làm giặc"
}
],
"word": "might makes right"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-17 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-01 using wiktextract (0b52755 and 5cb0836). 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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