proverb · Words worth keeping
A weapon is an enemy even to its owner.
A weapon is an enemy even to its owner.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A weapon called an enemy even to its owner gives a means of force an image of possible danger to the person possessing it. The saying questions control being assumed from ownership.
What the words are saying
The metaphor is a caution, not a universal prediction of injury or a technical handling rule. A responsible reading can examine what consequences an instrument of force creates without providing operational instructions. Ownership alone does not settle a particular risk or legal question.
Everyday example
A reader asks what responsibilities and consequences accompany possession rather than assuming it guarantees control.
When to use it
Use it as a caution about means of force without operational guidance.
What it does not mean
No handling procedure, legal conclusion or inevitable injury 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
- Not established
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 515; PDF page 48; collection label: Ottoman Empire/Turkey
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Ottoman Empire/Turkey