one swallow does not make a summer
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A single event or occurrence does not necessarily mean a trend or pattern
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Một sự kiện hoặc sự việc đơn lẻ không nhất thiết tạo thành một xu hướng hoặc mô hình
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: a single swallow bird does not signify the start of summer
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “one swallow does not make a summer” mean?
A single event or occurrence does not necessarily mean a trend or pattern Literally: a single swallow bird does not signify the start of summer
Is “one swallow does not make a summer” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.