Idiom
dwarf standing on the shoulders of giants
Meaning
One who discovers by building on previous discoveries.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“We learn by being dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants.”
“The scientist explained that her new discovery was possible only because she was a dwarf standing on the shoulders of giants.”
“By acknowledging that he was merely a dwarf standing on the shoulders of giants, the researcher showed great respect for the thinkers who came before him.”
Examples
simple
“We learn by being dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants.”
contextual
“The scientist explained that her new discovery was possible only because she was a dwarf standing on the shoulders of giants.”
complex
“By acknowledging that he was merely a dwarf standing on the shoulders of giants, the researcher showed great respect for the thinkers who came before him.”
Origin
Calque of Latin nani, gigantum humeris insidentes.
Key words
Related idioms
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