# an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth

> English word · Proverb

## Definitions
1. compensation for injury caused by a person, in the form of inflicting of an identical injury on that person.

## Etymology
Reference to Exodus 21:23-25: "And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe". (King James Version)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/an-eye-for-an-eye-a-tooth-for-a-tooth