ProverbHub
Arabic · Arabic scriptProverb: Verified

«اِلْمِعْزَهْ كُومْ، وِوْلَادْهَا كُومْ»

Meanings

Each meaning is reviewed on its own.

Meaning: Verified
English translation

The nanny goat alone makes one pile, and all her kids together make just one more.

Literal wording

The she-goat is a heap, and her kids are a heap.

Meaning and lesson

A single goat can weigh as much as all her young put together, so her one mouth may consume what a whole group would. The image concerns appetite, not her worth compared with her kids; it warns against judging a claimant's demand by headcount, since one individual can carry the weight of many.

Applied to people competing for something limited, it points out that one participant may absorb a share equal to everyone else's. The word for 'pile' marks an equal share, not a jibe about body size. Counting heads underestimates the pressure on supply, because one heavy claimant counts as a crowd.

When it is used

Say it when several parties want a share of something and one of them, though a single person, will take as much as all the others combined. It suits wry remarks about dividing food, money, or resources among claimants.

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