🇪🇸Spanish Source WordCode: ES

Más vale tarde que nunca

Pronunciation / Transliteration: Más vale tarde que nunca

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Better-Late-Than-Never/ˈbɛtər leɪt ðən ˈnɛvər/
proverbCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #1500 frequency
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🇪🇸 Example Sentence in Spanish:

"Llegó a la reunión, más vale tarde que nunca."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As proverb
  1. 1

    A saying that suggests it is better for someone or something to be late than never to arrive or to happen.

    "Even though he missed the start of the meeting, he joined in later; better late than never."
  2. 2

    An expression used to convey that it is acceptable to do something after the expected time.

    "She finally submitted her application; better late than never."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The phrase 'better late than never' has its roots in Middle English, with the earliest recorded usage dating back to the 14th century. It combines the Old English 'betera' (better) and 'nǣfre' (never), reflecting a cultural shift towards valuing timely action while acknowledging that any action is preferable to inaction.

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