"separate the wheat from the chaff" meaning in English

See separate the wheat from the chaff in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: En-au-separate the wheat from the chaff.ogg Forms: separates the wheat from the chaff [present, singular, third-person], separating the wheat from the chaff [participle, present], separated the wheat from the chaff [participle, past], separated the wheat from the chaff [past]
Etymology: The figurative sense is by extension from the literal sense, which is threshing. Because threshing has been an important activity for humans for thousands of years, it is well represented both in folk wisdom and (relatedly) in the bible; for example, Matthew 3:12. Head templates: {{en-verb|*}} separate the wheat from the chaff (third-person singular simple present separates the wheat from the chaff, present participle separating the wheat from the chaff, simple past and past participle separated the wheat from the chaff)
  1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To select only that which is of value. Tags: idiomatic, intransitive Synonyms: winnow, sort the wheat from the chaff, winnow the wheat from the chaff, winnow grain from chaff Related terms: wheat and tares Translations (to select only that which is of value): 分清良莠 (fēnqīng liángyǒu) (Chinese Mandarin), oddělit zrno od plev [perfective] (Czech), skille klinten fra hveden (Danish), het kaf van het koren scheiden (Dutch), erottaa jyvät akanoista (Finnish), séparer le bon grain de l’ivraie (French), die Spreu vom Weizen trennen (German), διαχωρίζω την ήρα από το στάρι (diachorízo tin íra apó to stári) (Greek), לָבוּר אֶת הַבָּר מִן הַתֶּבֶן (lavúr et habár min hatéven) (Hebrew), elválasztja/szétválasztja az ocsút a búzától (Hungarian), skilja hismið frá kjarnanum (Icelandic), separare il grano dalla pula (Italian), separare il buono dal cattivo (Italian), もみがらから麦をより分ける (momigara kara mugi o yoriwakeru) (Japanese), 良いものと悪いものを分ける (yoi mono to warui mono o wakeru) (Japanese), skille klinten fra hveten (Norwegian Bokmål), oddzielać ziarno od plew [imperfective] (Polish), oddzielić ziarno od plew [perfective] (Polish), separar o trigo do joio (Portuguese), separar o joio do trigo (Portuguese), apartar el grano de la paja (Spanish), separar la paja del trigo (Spanish), separar el trigo de la paja (Spanish), skilja agnarna från vetet (Swedish)

Alternative forms

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  "etymology_text": "The figurative sense is by extension from the literal sense, which is threshing. Because threshing has been an important activity for humans for thousands of years, it is well represented both in folk wisdom and (relatedly) in the bible; for example, Matthew 3:12.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "separates the wheat from the chaff",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "separating the wheat from the chaff",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
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    },
    {
      "form": "separated the wheat from the chaff",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "separated the wheat from the chaff",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
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      "args": {
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      "name": "en-verb"
    }
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  "lang_code": "en",
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          "ref": "2022 July 13, Rachel Cheung, “A Bored Chinese Housewife Spent Years Falsifying Russian History on Wikipedia”, in Vice:",
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          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To select only that which is of value."
      ],
      "id": "en-separate_the_wheat_from_the_chaff-en-verb-ujjZnRyb",
      "links": [
        [
          "select",
          "select"
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        [
          "value",
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        "(idiomatic, intransitive) To select only that which is of value."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "wheat and tares"
        }
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      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "winnow"
        },
        {
          "word": "sort the wheat from the chaff"
        },
        {
          "word": "winnow the wheat from the chaff"
        },
        {
          "word": "winnow grain from chaff"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive"
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      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "fēnqīng liángyǒu",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "分清良莠"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "oddělit zrno od plev"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "skille klinten fra hveden"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "het kaf van het koren scheiden"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "erottaa jyvät akanoista"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "séparer le bon grain de l’ivraie"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "die Spreu vom Weizen trennen"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "diachorízo tin íra apó to stári",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "διαχωρίζω την ήρα από το στάρι"
        },
        {
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "lavúr et habár min hatéven",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "לָבוּר אֶת הַבָּר מִן הַתֶּבֶן"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "elválasztja/szétválasztja az ocsút a búzától"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "skilja hismið frá kjarnanum"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "separare il grano dalla pula"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "separare il buono dal cattivo"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "momigara kara mugi o yoriwakeru",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "もみがらから麦をより分ける"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "yoi mono to warui mono o wakeru",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "良いものと悪いものを分ける"
        },
        {
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "skille klinten fra hveten"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "oddzielać ziarno od plew"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "oddzielić ziarno od plew"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "separar o trigo do joio"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "separar o joio do trigo"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "отделя́ть зёрна от пле́вел impf (otdeljátʹ zjórna ot plével, literally “to separate grain from tares”)",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "отдели́ть зёрна от пле́вел pf (otdelítʹ zjórna ot plével, literally “to separate grain from tares”)",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "му́хи отде́льно, котле́ты отде́льно (múxi otdélʹno, kotléty otdélʹno, literally “flies apart, meatballs apart”)",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "отдели́ть а́гнцев от ко́злищ pf (otdelítʹ ágncev ot kózlišč, literally “to separate lambs from goats”)",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "apartar el grano de la paja"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "separar la paja del trigo"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "separar el trigo de la paja"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
          "word": "skilja agnarna från vetet"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
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      "audio": "En-au-separate the wheat from the chaff.ogg",
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  "word": "separate the wheat from the chaff"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "The figurative sense is by extension from the literal sense, which is threshing. Because threshing has been an important activity for humans for thousands of years, it is well represented both in folk wisdom and (relatedly) in the bible; for example, Matthew 3:12.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "separates the wheat from the chaff",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "separating the wheat from the chaff",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
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    },
    {
      "form": "separated the wheat from the chaff",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
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    },
    {
      "form": "separated the wheat from the chaff",
      "tags": [
        "past"
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      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "wheat and tares"
    }
  ],
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        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Japanese translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations",
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        "Terms with Swedish translations"
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          "ref": "2022 July 13, Rachel Cheung, “A Bored Chinese Housewife Spent Years Falsifying Russian History on Wikipedia”, in Vice:",
          "text": "As a punishment, Zhemao and her affiliated accounts were suspended permanently. Most of her articles were deleted based on community consensus. Some Wikipedians even wrote to experts, seeking help to separate the wheat from the chaff.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To select only that which is of value."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "select",
          "select"
        ],
        [
          "value",
          "value"
        ]
      ],
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        "(idiomatic, intransitive) To select only that which is of value."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "winnow"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive"
      ]
    }
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    {
      "word": "sort the wheat from the chaff"
    },
    {
      "word": "winnow the wheat from the chaff"
    },
    {
      "word": "winnow grain from chaff"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "fēnqīng liángyǒu",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "分清良莠"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "oddělit zrno od plev"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "skille klinten fra hveden"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "het kaf van het koren scheiden"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "erottaa jyvät akanoista"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "séparer le bon grain de l’ivraie"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "die Spreu vom Weizen trennen"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "diachorízo tin íra apó to stári",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "διαχωρίζω την ήρα από το στάρι"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "lavúr et habár min hatéven",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "לָבוּר אֶת הַבָּר מִן הַתֶּבֶן"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "elválasztja/szétválasztja az ocsút a búzától"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "skilja hismið frá kjarnanum"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "separare il grano dalla pula"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "separare il buono dal cattivo"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "momigara kara mugi o yoriwakeru",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "もみがらから麦をより分ける"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "yoi mono to warui mono o wakeru",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "良いものと悪いものを分ける"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "skille klinten fra hveten"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "oddzielać ziarno od plew"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "oddzielić ziarno od plew"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "separar o trigo do joio"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "separar o joio do trigo"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "отделя́ть зёрна от пле́вел impf (otdeljátʹ zjórna ot plével, literally “to separate grain from tares”)",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "отдели́ть зёрна от пле́вел pf (otdelítʹ zjórna ot plével, literally “to separate grain from tares”)",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "му́хи отде́льно, котле́ты отде́льно (múxi otdélʹno, kotléty otdélʹno, literally “flies apart, meatballs apart”)",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "отдели́ть а́гнцев от ко́злищ pf (otdelítʹ ágncev ot kózlišč, literally “to separate lambs from goats”)",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "apartar el grano de la paja"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "separar la paja del trigo"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "separar el trigo de la paja"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "to select only that which is of value",
      "word": "skilja agnarna från vetet"
    }
  ],
  "word": "separate the wheat from the chaff"
}

Download raw JSONL data for separate the wheat from the chaff meaning in English (7.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). 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.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.