- Meaning
- This idiom refers to resolving a conflict or ending a dispute, often by making peace or reconciling with an adversary, as if symbolically burying a weapon used in battle. It conveys a deliberate act of forgiveness, truce, or moving past grievances, commonly used in personal, professional, or diplomatic contexts to emphasize restoration of harmony. The phrase carries a tone of resolution, maturity, or pragmatism, reflecting cultural values of reconciliation and the human tendency to hold grudges. Its imagery, rooted in the act of burying a literal hatchet, evokes a vivid, ceremonial closure to hostility, resonating in situations requiring emotional or strategic détente. The idiom often implies a mutual agreement to let go of past wrongs, making it a powerful metaphor for peace-making and the challenges of overcoming enmity.
- Origin
- The phrase originated in 17th-century North America, derived from Native American practices observed by European settlers, particularly during peace negotiations between tribes or with colonists. Tribes like the Iroquois and Algonquian would ceremonially bury weapons, including hatchets, to signify the end of hostilities, a ritual documented in Samuel Sewall’s 1680 diary and later in *The History of the Five Indian Nations* (1727) by Cadwallader Colden. The term entered English usage in the early 18th century, appearing in colonial records and treaties, such as the 1705 Virginia Council minutes. By the 19th century, it gained broader traction in American and British literature, notably in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s *Hiawatha* (1855), which romanticized Native rituals. Its use expanded in the 20th century through journalism and diplomacy, as seen in *The New York Times* reports on post-World War I truces. The phrase’s vivid imagery and cross-cultural resonance ensured its adoption across English-speaking regions, from personal disputes to international relations.
- Variants
-
- Burying the hatchet
- Bury the hatchet
- Bury your hatchet
- Bury their hatchets
- Examples
-
- After years of rivalry, the two CEOs decided to bury the hatchet and collaborate on a new project.
- Burying the hatchet with her sister, she attended the family reunion with a smile.
- The nations buried their hatchets after signing the peace treaty, ending decades of tension.
- Bury your hatchet, he urged, suggesting they resolve their feud before it escalated further.
- They buried the hatchet over coffee, agreeing to put their past arguments behind them.
|