Definition of: "take a leaf out of someone’s book" with explanation and origin
Definition of: take a leaf out of someone’s book with explanation and origin? Meaning of take a leaf out of someone’s book with examples in English idiom dictionary.
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Definition of: "take a leaf out of someone’s book" with explanation and origin
take a leaf out of someone’s book
take a leaf out of someone’s book
Meaning
- implement actionable advice
- follow an example set by another person
- imitate another person
- emulate
- copy
Example Sentences
- I couldn’t decide what to do after high school, but my dad makes great money welding, so I took a leaf out of his book and went to trade school instead of college.
- Some polymers were made by studying and taking a leaf from the books of many species of ants.
- If you listen closely, it’s easy to realize that modern vocalists took leaves from the books of classic singers such as Frank Sinatra.
- You need to take a leaf out of your boss’s book and be punctual about coming to the office on time.
Origin
The use of this expression can be traced back to the early 1800s when it was used by B. H. Malkin to describe his translation of Gil Blas. His usage was more literal, in that, he translated the literature by taking it directly from the pages of the original book. In its literal sense, to “take a leaf from someone’s book” means to plagiarize or tear pages from a book.
To understand the idiom fully, you must understand its etymology. A “leaf” within a book, magazine, or other reading material refers to two pages. When you open a magazine to the middle, you will see many sheets of paper folded and stapled at the center. You are seeing the leaves, not just the individual pages.
“Page” comes from the Latin word “pagina”, meaning “leaf” or “sheet”. Further derivation has another meaning, which is “forming a row of vines to create a rectangle.”
Next time you take a leaf from someone’s book, keep in mind that you’re actually taking two pages, and what’s on the other side of the page matters too!
The Origins of take a leaf out of someone’s book
Book, LearningEnglish
Related Dictionary
- English Definition & Meaning Dictionary
- English Idioms and phrases Dictionary
- Dictionnaire Français
- Dictionnaire d'expressions idiomatiques et de phrases en français
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English Idioms and phrases
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below). By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements.[3] For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" – and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context.
To evoke the desired effect in the listener, idioms require a precise replication of the phrase: not even articles can be used interchangeably (e.g. "kick a bucket" only retains the literal meaning of the phrase but not the idiomatic meaning).
Idioms should not be confused with other figures of speech such as metaphors, which evoke an image by use of implicit comparisons (e.g., "the man of steel"); similes, which evoke an image by use of explicit comparisons (e.g., "faster than a speeding bullet"); or hyperbole, which exaggerates an image beyond truthfulness (e.g., "more powerful than a locomotive"). Idioms are also not to be confused with proverbs, which are simple sayings that express a truth based on common sense or practical experience.
