Word.ws English Dictionary

the fish rots from the head

the fish rots from the head proverb: bad leaders harm an organization.

Proverb

the fish rots from the head

  1. Bad leaders harm an organization.

Origin of the fish rots from the head

Attested in Adages of Erasmus (16 c., Latin): Piscis primum a capite foetet (“The fish stinks first from the head”).

Questions about the fish rots from the head

What does the fish rots from the head mean?
The fish rots from the head means bad leaders harm an organization.
What part of speech is the fish rots from the head?
The fish rots from the head is a proverb.

Words near the fish rots from the head in the dictionary

  1. the finger
  2. the fingers
  3. The Firm
  4. the first step is always the hardest
  5. the first turn of the screw pays all debts
  6. the fish rots from the head
  7. the fix is in
  8. the floor is lava
  9. the flying fuck out of
  10. the forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest
  11. the Four Seas

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the fish rots from the head (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-the fish rots from the head.wav.

Cite this entry: “the fish rots from the head.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/the_fish_rots_from_the_head. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.