proverb · Legacy record
A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it hatches.
A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it hatches.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A future cock identifiable on hatching imagines later potential visible from an early sign. The saying favours recognising what a beginning may suggest.
What the words are saying
A responsible reading does not establish an animal identification rule or make a child’s future fixed. A qualified application can notice a developing interest while keeping uncertainty and opportunities open. Early impressions are not a complete competence or worth test.
Everyday example
A teacher supports a child’s emerging interest without predicting their whole future from one moment.
When to use it
Use it as a qualified potential-and-early-sign image.
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What it does not mean
No biological test or reliable lifelong prediction from an early appearance is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
Nigeria
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.- Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 658; PDF page 60; collection label: Nigeria
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Nigeria