the.com/olive branch
Peace offering that lets you surrender without using the word surrender.
means An offer or gesture meant to end a conflict and make peace with someone you've wronged or fought with.
from Rooted in the biblical flood story in Genesis, where a dove sent out by Noah returns carrying a freshly plucked olive leaf — the first sign that the waters were receding and life could begin again. The olive tree itself was already a Mediterranean symbol of peace and plenty long before that, since it took decades to mature and signaled stable, peaceful settlement rather than war. The phrase 'hold out an olive branch' took hold in English as a way to describe offering reconciliation, and it's stuck around ever since as the go-to image for 'let's stop fighting.'
- origin
- Greek goddess Athena gifted the first olive tree
- biblical tie
- dove brought one after Noah's flood
- irony
- olive trees take 20 years to bear fruit
- modern use
- now just means a mildly sincere apology text