ProverbPerseverance
Latin origin
Latin originBetter late than never
Meaning: Doing something late is better than not doing it at all.
Example: “He finally called to apologize. Better late than never.”
Origin: The Roman historian Livy used potius sero quam numquam — better late than never — in his History of Rome. Chaucer's The Canon's Yeoman's Tale has it in English: "For better than never is late."
Equivalents in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, and 4 more languages
French: Mieux vaut tard que jamais (literally: Better late than never)
Spanish: Más vale tarde que nunca (literally: Better late than never)
German: Besser spät als nie (literally: Better late than never)
Italian: Meglio tardi che mai (literally: Better late than never)
Portuguese: Mais vale tarde do que nunca (literally: Better late than never)
Dutch: Beter laat dan nooit (literally: Better late than never)
Russian: Лучше поздно, чем никогда (Luchshe pozdno, chem nikogda) (literally: Better late than never)
Polish: Lepiej późno niż wcale (literally: Better late than not at all)
Turkish: Geç olsun da güç olmasın (literally: Let it be late, as long as it isn't hard)
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