sweat of one's brow
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
A reference to Genesis 3:17 and 19 in the Bible (King James Version; spelling modernized):[1] “And unto Adam he [God] said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, [...] In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground: [...]”,[2] meaning that due to disobedience to God, humans would henceforth have to exert labour for their food, causing their brows or foreheads to perspire.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈswɛt əv wɒnz ˈbɹaʊ/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈswɛt əv wʌnz ˈbɹaʊ/
Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -aʊ
Noun[edit]
sweat of one's brow (uncountable)
- (idiomatic) The effort extended in (often manual) labour, and the value created thereby.
- Synonyms: (obsolete) sweat of one's brows, sweat of one's face
- 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 12: The Cyclops]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part II [Odyssey], page 285:
- So anyhow Terry brought the three pints Joe was standing and begob the sight nearly left my eyes when I saw him land out a quid. O, as true as I'm telling you. A goodlooking sovereign. / ― And there's more where that came from, says he. / ― Were you robbing the poorbox, Joe? say I? / ― Sweat of my brow, says Joe. 'Twas the prudent member gave me the wheeze.
- 1991 March 27, Sandra Day O'Connor writing for the Supreme Court of the United States in Feist Publications, Inc., v. Rural Telephone Service Co.:
- Making matters worse, these courts developed a new theory to justify the protection of factual compilations. Known alternatively as "sweat of the brow" or "industrious collection," the underlying notion was that copyright was a reward for the hard work that went into compiling facts.
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
effort extended in labour, and the value created thereby
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References[edit]
- ^ “the sweat of (one’s) brow (†brows), face, etc.” under “sweat, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1918; “by the sweat of one’s brow, phrase”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- ^ The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1611, →OCLC, Genesis 3:17 and 19: “And vnto Adam he [God] ſaid, Becauſe thou haſt hearkened vnto the voyce of thy wife, and haſt eaten of the tree, [...] In the ſweate of thy face ſhalt thou eate bread, till thou returne vnto the ground: [...]”; Bible (New International Version), 1984, Genesis 3:19: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Further reading[edit]
- “the sweat of somebody's brow” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
- “by the sweat of your brow” (US) / “by the sweat of your brow” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
- “by the sweat of one’s brow”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.