proverb · Words worth keeping
Hunger drives the wolf out of the wood.
Hunger drives the wolf out of the wood.
In print by 1857 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Urgent need can draw a person out of a familiar or protected place. The wolf image highlights pressure behind an action that may otherwise appear surprising.
What the words are saying
The wolf leaves the wood because remaining there does not answer its hunger. In a human reading, the movement illustrates how unmet needs can make someone take a step they previously avoided. Before judging the choice, ask what pressure made it necessary and whether safer alternatives were available. Need explains part of a situation; it does not automatically justify every resulting action. The image also warns against assuming that apparent inactivity means contentment, since the conditions that keep a person settled may change.
Everyday example
A normally reserved resident asks neighbours for help when an unexpected interruption leaves them without essential supplies.
When to use it
Use it to consider the unmet need behind an unfamiliar action.
What it does not mean
Avoid equating people seeking help with predatory animals or treating necessity as permission to harm others.
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 (French-language collection)
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1857 AD · industrial
In print by 1857: recorded in A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (1857) (1857 AD)
Printed page 28; French section, paragraph 560; source wording: La faim chasse le loup hors du bois.
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.