neuter
rēs
rēs, nōn verba
№ 38 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- Actions speak louder than words.
Venientibus iis Syracusas Scipio res, non verba ad purgandum sese paravit.
Whilst they were on their way to Syracuse Scipio prepared to justify himself, not by words but by acts.59 BCE – 17 CE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita libri 29.22
Origins
From rēs (“things, facts”) the plural of rēs (“a thing, a fact”) + nōn (“not”) + verba (“words”) the plural of verbum (“a word”). Literally meaning "deeds, not words" or "facts instead of words" but referring to that "actions be used instead of words".