"still waters run deep" meaning in English

See still waters run deep in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

Etymology: Of Latin origin, but possibly popularized by William Shakespeare, c. 1590, in "Henry VI," part 2, act 3, scene 1: : Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep; : And in his simple show he harbours treason. Head templates: {{head|en|proverb}} still waters run deep
  1. A person with a calm appearance has, or may have, considerable inner emotion, character, or intellect. Wikipedia link: William Shakespeare Synonyms: still water runs deep Related terms: empty vessels make the most noise, the calm before the storm Translations (a person's calm appearance may be misleading): دوز على لواد لهرهوري ولا تدوز على لواد سّكوتي (duz ʕla l-uwad l-hərhuri ula t-duz ʕla l-uwad s-skuti) [Moroccan-Arabic] (Arabic), йыуаштан йыуан сыға (yıwaştan yıwan sığa) (Bashkir), у ціхім балоце чэрці вядуцца (u cixim balócje čerci vjaducca) (Belarusian), ти́хите води́ са на́й-дълбо́ки (tíhite vodí sa náj-dǎlbóki) (Bulgarian), 靜水流深 (Chinese Mandarin), 静水流深 (jìngshuǐlíushēn) (Chinese Mandarin), tichá voda břehy mele (Czech), det stille vand har den dybe grund (Danish), stille wateren hebben diepe gronden (Dutch), syvissä vesissä ne isot kalat uivat (Finnish), il faut se méfier de l’eau qui dort (French), stille Wasser sind tief (German), stille Wasser gründen tief (German), τα σιγανά ποταμάκια να φοβάσαι (ta siganá potamákia na fovásai) (Greek), lassú víz partot mos (Hungarian), air tenang menghanyutkan (Indonesian), l'acqua cheta rompe i ponti (Italian), 能ある鷹は爪を隠す (alt: のう-ある-たか-は-つめ-を-かく-す nō aru taka wa tsume o kakusu) (Japanese), diam-diam ubi berisi, diam-diam besi berkarat (Malay), det stille vann har den dype grunn (Norwegian), cicha woda brzegi rwie (Polish), тихая вода́ берега подмывает (tixaja vodá berega podmyvajet) (Russian), tiha voda brijege dere (Serbo-Croatian), тиха вода брег рони (Serbo-Croatian), las aguas quietas calan hondo (Spanish), i de lugnaste vattnen går de största fiskarna (Swedish), น้ำนิ่งไหลลึก (náam-nîng-lǎi-lʉ́k) (Thai), тиха вода греблю рве (tyxa voda hreblju rve) (Ukrainian), c'est todi l'aiwe ki doime ki neye (Walloon), i s'fåt dmefiyî des coetès aiwes (Walloon), i n'a rén d'pé ki l'coete aiwe (Walloon)
    Sense id: en-still_waters_run_deep-en-proverb-wFixyHqu Categories (other): English proverbs, Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for still waters run deep meaning in English (7.4kB)

{
  "etymology_text": "Of Latin origin, but possibly popularized by William Shakespeare, c. 1590, in \"Henry VI,\" part 2, act 3, scene 1:\n: Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep;\n: And in his simple show he harbours treason.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb"
      },
      "expansion": "still waters run deep",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English proverbs",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1822, Catharine Maria Sedgwick, A New-England Tale",
          "text": "I always knew she was an artful jade; 'still waters run deep;' but she shall be exposed, the mask shall be stripped from the hypocrite.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1885, Thomas Hardy, A Mere Interlude",
          "text": "But still waters run deep; and no crisis had come in the years of her early maidenhood to demonstrate what lay hidden within her, like metal in a mine.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1903, Samuel Butler, chapter 58, in The Way of All Flesh",
          "text": "Baxter had never known of any goings on in that quarter, but, bless you, still waters run deep, and these girls were all alike, one as bad as the other.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003 June 8, Alice Elliott Dark, “Book Review: Rainy Day Woman”, in New York Times, retrieved 2008-07-09",
          "text": "Isabel Pierce, the central character of Sweetwater, Roxana Robinson's fluid third novel, gives the appearance of being a thoughtful, reserved, quiet woman who won't rock any boats in her life. Yet she harbors passions; it might be said of her that still waters run deep.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A person with a calm appearance has, or may have, considerable inner emotion, character, or intellect."
      ],
      "id": "en-still_waters_run_deep-en-proverb-wFixyHqu",
      "links": [
        [
          "calm",
          "calm"
        ],
        [
          "appearance",
          "appearance"
        ],
        [
          "considerable",
          "considerable"
        ],
        [
          "emotion",
          "emotion"
        ],
        [
          "character",
          "character"
        ],
        [
          "intellect",
          "intellect"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "empty vessels make the most noise"
        },
        {
          "word": "the calm before the storm"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "still water runs deep"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ary",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "duz ʕla l-uwad l-hərhuri ula t-duz ʕla l-uwad s-skuti",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "tags": [
            "Moroccan-Arabic"
          ],
          "word": "دوز على لواد لهرهوري ولا تدوز على لواد سّكوتي"
        },
        {
          "code": "ba",
          "lang": "Bashkir",
          "roman": "yıwaştan yıwan sığa",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "йыуаштан йыуан сыға"
        },
        {
          "code": "be",
          "lang": "Belarusian",
          "roman": "u cixim balócje čerci vjaducca",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "у ціхім балоце чэрці вядуцца"
        },
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "tíhite vodí sa náj-dǎlbóki",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "ти́хите води́ са на́й-дълбо́ки"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "靜水流深"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "jìngshuǐlíushēn",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "静水流深"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "tichá voda břehy mele"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "det stille vand har den dybe grund"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "stille wateren hebben diepe gronden"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "syvissä vesissä ne isot kalat uivat"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "il faut se méfier de l’eau qui dort"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "stille Wasser sind tief"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "stille Wasser gründen tief"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ta siganá potamákia na fovásai",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "τα σιγανά ποταμάκια να φοβάσαι"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "lassú víz partot mos"
        },
        {
          "code": "id",
          "lang": "Indonesian",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "air tenang menghanyutkan"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "l'acqua cheta rompe i ponti"
        },
        {
          "alt": "のう-ある-たか-は-つめ-を-かく-す nō aru taka wa tsume o kakusu",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "能ある鷹は爪を隠す"
        },
        {
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "diam-diam ubi berisi, diam-diam besi berkarat"
        },
        {
          "code": "no",
          "lang": "Norwegian",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "det stille vann har den dype grunn"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "cicha woda brzegi rwie"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "в ти́хом о́муте че́рти во́дятся (v tíxom ómute čérti vódjatsja, literally “in a quiet slough devils are found”)",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "tixaja vodá berega podmyvajet",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "тихая вода́ берега подмывает"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "tiha voda brijege dere"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "тиха вода брег рони"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "las aguas quietas calan hondo"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "i de lugnaste vattnen går de största fiskarna"
        },
        {
          "code": "th",
          "lang": "Thai",
          "roman": "náam-nîng-lǎi-lʉ́k",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "น้ำนิ่งไหลลึก"
        },
        {
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "tyxa voda hreblju rve",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "тиха вода греблю рве"
        },
        {
          "code": "wa",
          "lang": "Walloon",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "c'est todi l'aiwe ki doime ki neye"
        },
        {
          "code": "wa",
          "lang": "Walloon",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "i s'fåt dmefiyî des coetès aiwes"
        },
        {
          "code": "wa",
          "lang": "Walloon",
          "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
          "word": "i n'a rén d'pé ki l'coete aiwe"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "William Shakespeare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "still waters run deep"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "Of Latin origin, but possibly popularized by William Shakespeare, c. 1590, in \"Henry VI,\" part 2, act 3, scene 1:\n: Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep;\n: And in his simple show he harbours treason.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb"
      },
      "expansion": "still waters run deep",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "empty vessels make the most noise"
    },
    {
      "word": "the calm before the storm"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English proverbs",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1822, Catharine Maria Sedgwick, A New-England Tale",
          "text": "I always knew she was an artful jade; 'still waters run deep;' but she shall be exposed, the mask shall be stripped from the hypocrite.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1885, Thomas Hardy, A Mere Interlude",
          "text": "But still waters run deep; and no crisis had come in the years of her early maidenhood to demonstrate what lay hidden within her, like metal in a mine.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1903, Samuel Butler, chapter 58, in The Way of All Flesh",
          "text": "Baxter had never known of any goings on in that quarter, but, bless you, still waters run deep, and these girls were all alike, one as bad as the other.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003 June 8, Alice Elliott Dark, “Book Review: Rainy Day Woman”, in New York Times, retrieved 2008-07-09",
          "text": "Isabel Pierce, the central character of Sweetwater, Roxana Robinson's fluid third novel, gives the appearance of being a thoughtful, reserved, quiet woman who won't rock any boats in her life. Yet she harbors passions; it might be said of her that still waters run deep.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A person with a calm appearance has, or may have, considerable inner emotion, character, or intellect."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "calm",
          "calm"
        ],
        [
          "appearance",
          "appearance"
        ],
        [
          "considerable",
          "considerable"
        ],
        [
          "emotion",
          "emotion"
        ],
        [
          "character",
          "character"
        ],
        [
          "intellect",
          "intellect"
        ]
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "William Shakespeare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "still water runs deep"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ary",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "duz ʕla l-uwad l-hərhuri ula t-duz ʕla l-uwad s-skuti",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "tags": [
        "Moroccan-Arabic"
      ],
      "word": "دوز على لواد لهرهوري ولا تدوز على لواد سّكوتي"
    },
    {
      "code": "ba",
      "lang": "Bashkir",
      "roman": "yıwaştan yıwan sığa",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "йыуаштан йыуан сыға"
    },
    {
      "code": "be",
      "lang": "Belarusian",
      "roman": "u cixim balócje čerci vjaducca",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "у ціхім балоце чэрці вядуцца"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "tíhite vodí sa náj-dǎlbóki",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "ти́хите води́ са на́й-дълбо́ки"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "靜水流深"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "jìngshuǐlíushēn",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "静水流深"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "tichá voda břehy mele"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "det stille vand har den dybe grund"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "stille wateren hebben diepe gronden"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "syvissä vesissä ne isot kalat uivat"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "il faut se méfier de l’eau qui dort"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "stille Wasser sind tief"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "stille Wasser gründen tief"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ta siganá potamákia na fovásai",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "τα σιγανά ποταμάκια να φοβάσαι"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "lassú víz partot mos"
    },
    {
      "code": "id",
      "lang": "Indonesian",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "air tenang menghanyutkan"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "l'acqua cheta rompe i ponti"
    },
    {
      "alt": "のう-ある-たか-は-つめ-を-かく-す nō aru taka wa tsume o kakusu",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "能ある鷹は爪を隠す"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "diam-diam ubi berisi, diam-diam besi berkarat"
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "det stille vann har den dype grunn"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "cicha woda brzegi rwie"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "в ти́хом о́муте че́рти во́дятся (v tíxom ómute čérti vódjatsja, literally “in a quiet slough devils are found”)",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "tixaja vodá berega podmyvajet",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "тихая вода́ берега подмывает"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "tiha voda brijege dere"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "тиха вода брег рони"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "las aguas quietas calan hondo"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "i de lugnaste vattnen går de största fiskarna"
    },
    {
      "code": "th",
      "lang": "Thai",
      "roman": "náam-nîng-lǎi-lʉ́k",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "น้ำนิ่งไหลลึก"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "tyxa voda hreblju rve",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "тиха вода греблю рве"
    },
    {
      "code": "wa",
      "lang": "Walloon",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "c'est todi l'aiwe ki doime ki neye"
    },
    {
      "code": "wa",
      "lang": "Walloon",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "i s'fåt dmefiyî des coetès aiwes"
    },
    {
      "code": "wa",
      "lang": "Walloon",
      "sense": "a person's calm appearance may be misleading",
      "word": "i n'a rén d'pé ki l'coete aiwe"
    }
  ],
  "word": "still waters run deep"
}

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