a man's home is his castle

English

Etymology

Traditional; the sentiment dates back to Roman times:

quid enim sanctius, quid omni religione munitius, quam domus unusquisque civium?

What more sacred, what more strongly guarded by every holy feeling, than a man's own home?

—Cicero

In English, see Book 4, Chapter 16 of William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England:

And the law of England has so particular and tender a regard to the immunity of a man's house, that it stiles it his castle, and will never suffer it to be violated with immunity: agreeing herein with the sentiments of ancient Rome, as expressed in the works of Tully; quid enim sanctius, quid omni religione munitius, quam domus unusquisque civium?

Proverb

a man's home is his castle

1. (US) a proverbial expression of personal privacy and security

Related terms

• an Englishman's home is his castle

References

• Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, ISBN 0-679-44554-4, p. 229.