Word.ws English Dictionary

the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world

the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world proverb: women, particularly mothers, have a decisive influence on the future direction of society because they raise and nurture the next generation.

Proverb

the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world

  1. Women, particularly mothers, have a decisive influence on the future direction of society because they raise and nurture the next generation.
    • Blessings on the hand of women! . . .
      For the hand that rocks the cradle
      Is the hand that rules the world.1865, William Ross Wallace, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
    • We talk a great deal about the strength of early impressions. I wonder if we mean all we say; we do not live up to it, at all events. "In childish play deep meaning lies." "The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." "Give me the first six years of a child's life, and I care...1892, Kate Douglas Wiggin, chapter 2, in Children's Rights and Others: A Book of Nursery Logic

Examples of the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world in a sentence

  • The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.1922, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “Education and Sex in Man, Woman and Child”, in Fantasia of the Unconscious, New York, N.Y.: Thomas...
  • Men rationalize their dominant estate: Woman's lot is to be the homemaker, the child raiser, the provider of sons; the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.1981 Nov. 15, Paul A. Colinvaux, "Women's Work" (book review of The Woman That Never Evolved by Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, New York Times...

Forms of the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world

alternative formthe hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world

Origin of the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world

Found as a popular saying from 1840 (See Parent's Monitor and Young People's Friend Volume 1, p. 47 https://www.google.com/books/edition/Parent_s_Monitor_and_Young_People_s_Frie/wv8XAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22hand+that+rocks+the+cradle+rules%22&pg=PA47&printsec=frontcover); made famous by a poem (1865) by William Ross Wallace.

Questions about the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world

What does the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world mean?
The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world means women, particularly mothers, have a decisive influence on the future direction of society because they raise and nurture the next generation.
How do you use the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world in a sentence?
The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
What part of speech is the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world?
The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world is a proverb.

Words near the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world in the dictionary

  1. The Hague
  2. The Hague Invasion Act
  3. the hairy hell
  4. the half of it
  5. the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world
  6. the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world
  7. the handbags come out
  8. the handwriting is on the wall
  9. the hard way
  10. The Hatch
  11. the Hatfields and the McCoys

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world (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.

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