proverb · Words worth keeping
Remove an old tree and it will wither to death.
Remove an old tree and it will wither to death.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Abruptly disrupting an established source of stability can be harmful. The old tree’s removal supplies a warning that should remain a metaphor rather than a rule about people’s age.
What the words are saying
The tree is imagined to lose what sustained it when moved. This can prompt care before changing a long-established arrangement, especially when others depend on it. It does not prove that relocation is always destructive or that older people cannot adapt. A useful reading asks what support must be preserved and whether the proposed change offers real benefits as well as costs.
Everyday example
A group consults people who depend on an established service before moving it and plans support for the transition.
When to use it
Use it to examine what stability a major change might disrupt.
What it does not mean
Older people can adapt, and a change may be beneficial; this is not gardening or medical advice.
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
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1655 · Tree
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English