Bible References (4)
Tags
revelationdeathwarfaminepestilencesportsidiom
Language★ Landmark WorkIdiom / Cultural metaphor
The Four Horsemen
King James Bible / Revelation 6:1-81611 (KJV)
Early Modern English
England / Global
The four horsemen of the Apocalypse - Conquest (or Pestilence), War, Famine, and Death - entered English as the ultimate quaternity of catastrophe. The phrase 'four horsemen' is regularly borrowed in journalism, sports (the Notre Dame backfield, 1924), medicine, and political analysis to describe any four-part combination of related threats or forces. The imagery is among the most culturally pervasive in Revelation.
Details
- Domain
- Language
- Type
- Idiom / Cultural metaphor
- Period
- Early Modern English
- Region
- England / Global
- Year
- 1611 (KJV)
- Significance
- Landmark Work
- Bible Refs
- 4
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LanguageEveryday English phrases, idioms, and expressions that entered the language directly from the Bible.