eye for an eye
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eye for an eye
Where it comes from
Calque of Hebrew עין תחת עין (ayin tahat ayin), in reference to Exodus 21:23-25: "And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe" (King James Version; spelling modernized).
noun
-
Compensation for injury caused by a person, in the form of inflicting an identical injury on that person.
Similar: a Roland for an Oliver, tit for tat
Opposite: turn the other cheek
Thesaurus
noun
Opposite: turn the other cheek
Translations
Every language
noun compensation for an injury
| Español | ojo por ojo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 눈에는 눈 nuneneun nun |
| 日本語 | 目には目を me ni wa me o |
| 中文 | 以眼還眼 /以眼还眼 yǐ yǎn huán yǎn, 以牙還牙 /以牙还牙 yǐ yá huán yá |
| हिन्दी | ख़ून का बदला ख़ून xūn kā badlā xūn |
| Kiswahili | jicho kwa jicho |
| Português | olho por olho |
| Français | œil pour œil |
| Deutsch | Auge um Auge |
| Italiano | occhio per occhio |
| Русский | о́ко за о́ко, зуб за зуб óko za óko, zub za zub, о́ко за о́ко óko za óko, глаз за глаз glaz za glaz |
| Tiếng Việt | mắt đền mắt, răng đền răng, mắt đền mắt |
| العربية | الْعَيْنُ بِالْعَيْن al-ʕaynu bi-l-ʕayn |
| עברית | עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן 'áyin táḥat 'áyin |
Talk about this word "eye for an eye." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/eye%20for%20an%20eye. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. eye for an eye. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/eye%20for%20an%20eye "eye for an eye." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/eye%20for%20an%20eye.Cite this
@misc{eye_for_an_eye_2026,
title = {eye for an eye},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/eye%20for%20an%20eye},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
