Familiarity breeds contempt
Suggest a CorrectionMeaning
Close or prolonged acquaintance can reduce respect and make faults more noticeable. It describes a possible effect, not a universal law; familiarity can also build trust. Regional use: Middle English proverbial precursor within a wider European tradition; now widespread.
Origin
The exact modern English sentence is later than Chaucer, but the proverb's English form is already clear in his Tale of Melibee, around 1386: over-great homeliness or familiarity engenders disparagement. Chaucer was translating an established European counsel tradition, and Middle French had a close formula earlier in the fourteenth century. Richard Taverner's 1539 Early Modern English says that overmuch familiarity might breed contempt, supplying the modern vocabulary before the concise wording fully stabilized.
Research Sources
Variants
- Too much familiarity breeds contempt
Usage Examples
- Years of hearing the slogan proved that familiarity breeds contempt.
- The manager kept some distance, believing familiarity breeds contempt.
- After months of repeated delays, familiarity bred contempt for the once-impressive process.