keep the wolf from the door
English
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keep the wolf from the door
Where it comes from
The original saying may have been keep the wolf from the gate, which dates from at least 1470. By the 1500s the saying had become keep the wolf from the door, with the current meaning that it bears: see, for example, the 1645 quotation.
There is a suggestion that the phrase may have originated from French or German phrases. Compare the French manger comme un loup (“eat like a wolf”), and the German Wolfsmagen (literally “wolf’s stomach”) means “a keen appetite”.
verb keeps the wolf from the door · keeping the wolf from the door · kept the wolf from the door
- To ward off poverty or hunger. They didn't earn much, but it was enough to keep the wolf from the door.
- To delay sexual ejaculation. Do you mind if I talk? It helps me keep the wolf from the door, so to speak. Jill, what do you think of the pedestrianization of Norwich city centre?
Translations
Every language
verb to ward off poverty
| Français | être à l'abri du besoin |
|---|---|
| Italiano | rimanere a galla, tirare avanti, barcamenarsi, cavarsela, farcela, scamparla |
Talk about this word "keep the wolf from the door." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/keep%20the%20wolf%20from%20the%20door. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. keep the wolf from the door. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/keep%20the%20wolf%20from%20the%20door "keep the wolf from the door." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/keep%20the%20wolf%20from%20the%20door.Cite this
@misc{keep_the_wolf_from_the_door_2026,
title = {keep the wolf from the door},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/keep%20the%20wolf%20from%20the%20door},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
