Rome wasn't built in a day en · X
Pronunciation
- (General-American) audio
- /ˈɹəʊm ˌwɒzənt ˈbɪlt‿ɪn‿ə ˈdeɪ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈɹoʊm ˌwʌzənt ˈbɪlt‿ɪn‿ə ˈdeɪ/ (General-American)
Etymology
Probably a calque of Middle French Rome ne fut pas faite toute en un jour (literally “Rome was not made all in one day”); compare modern French Rome ne s'est pas faite en un jour.
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) It takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive.
[O]ne daye or lytle tyme is not ynoughe for the acheuinge of a great matter. Which is al one with this in engliſhe: Rome was not buylt in one day.
1545 August 20 (Gregorian calendar), Erasmus, “Vna hirundo non facit ver [One swallow does not make it spring]”, in Richard Taverner, transl., Proverbes or Adagies Gathered out of the Chiliades of Erasmus […], new edition, London: Edwardus Whytchurche […]; to be sel […] by Wyllyam Telotson, →OCLC, folio xxv, verso:Rome was not built in one day (quoth he), and yet stood / Till it was finisht, as some say, full fayre.
1546, John Heywood, chapter XI, in Julian Sharman, editor, The Proverbs of John Heywood. […], London: George Bell and Sons, […], published 1874, →OCLC, part I, pages 64–65:Rome wasn't built in a day, nor, for that matter, Templetown 'ither, though it may be said to be a quick-growing place.
1823, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter I, in The Pioneers, or The Sources of the Susquehanna; […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: Charles Wiley; […], →OCLC, page 17:One fine day / We'll fly away / Don't you know that Rome wasn't built in a day?
2000, Paul Godfrey, Ross Godfrey, Skye Edwards, “Rome Wasn't Built In a Day”, in Fragments of Freedom, performed by Morcheeba:I actually believe in some respects we may be in danger of working too quickly, simply to address that perception. As the ridiculously over-used cliché notes, Rome was not built in a day. What I do accept is that the 100-day project that saw the new city plan designed was done at breakneck speed. This was a phenomenally challenging time frame but absolutely crucial. For a community still suffering, still shocked, and literally still shaking, there clearly needed to be a plan put in place as quickly as possible.
2014 August, Roger Sutton, “A Blank Canvas for New Beginnings”, in Barnaby Bennett, James Dann, Emma Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, editors, Once in a Lifetime: City-building after Disaster in Christchurch, Christchurch: Freerange Press, →ISBN, page 54:But, "Rome wasent built in a day," nor will one thump of the pate make a soldier.
1804, W[illiam] Dunlap, “The Wife of Two Husbands. A Drama, […]”, in The English and American Stage, volume III, New York, N.Y.: […] D. Longworth, […], published 1807, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 4:[…] Rome''' vvas not built in a day, nor is a Reformation in the true Lavv-ſenſe effectable preſently; […]
1663, Edward Waterhous[e], chapter XXIX, in Fortescutus Illustratus; or A Commentary on that Nervous Treatise De Laudibus Legum Angliæ, Written by Sir John Fortescue Knight, […], London: […] Tho[mas] Roycroft for Thomas Dicas […], →OCLC, page 375:Rome wasn't built in a day and the path of black and white relationships in the South won't be solved overnight, either.
1960 March 7, George Todt, “George Todt’s opinion: Civil rights fate uncertain”, in Valley Times, home edition, volume 23, number 57, North Hollywood, Calif.: Robert N. Weed, →OCLC, page 14, column 6:I know this project is a big undertaking, but you need to have patience and be hopeful. Remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day.
[T]hou must have patience. Rome was not built in a day—you cannot become used to your court-suit in a month's time, any more than when you changed your long coat for a doublet and hose; […]
1822 May 29, [Walter Scott], chapter X, in The Fortunes of Nigel. […], volume II (in English), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, pages 237–238:[Y]ou muſt lay your account vvith mounting by gradual ſteps to the ſummit of your fortune.—Rome vvas not built in a day,— […]
1748, [Tobias Smollett], “I Cultivate an Acquaintance with Two Noblemen […]”, in The Adventures of Roderick Random. […], volume II, London: […] [William Strahan] for J[ohn] Osborn […], →OCLC, page 173:I feel like Rome wasn't built in a day, and I know that everybody is really impatient, but I know that with time things can be turned around.
2010 January 22, [unidentified questioner], “Remarks at a Town Hall Meeting and a Question-and-answer Session in Elyria, Ohio”, in Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Barack Obama: 2010 […], book I (January 1 to June 30, 2010), Washington, D.C.: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration; United States Government Printing Office, published 2013, →OCLC, page 61, column 1:"As Rome," it was suggested, "had not been built in a day,["] so neither had Mademoiselle Gérard Moore's education been completed in a week, or by merely wishing to be clever. It was effort that had accomplished that great work: […]
1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], “Coriolanus”, in Shirley. A Tale. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, page 123:The Reformation you haue made of the many and maine corruptions of the Romiſh Ch[urch] vve do ingenuouſly acknovvledge, and doe vvithall imbrace vvith you all the truths vvhich to our knovvledge you haue receiued in ſtead of them. But Rome vvas not built all in a day.
1610, Jos[eph] Hall, “Section XXV. What Separation England hath Made.”, in A Common Apologie of the Church of England: Against the Uniust Challenges of the Ouer-iust Sect, Commonly Called Brownists. […], London: […] [William Stansby] for Samuel Macham, […], →OCLC, marginal note, page 63:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rome was not built in a day | alternative | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
Relateds
eat an elephant one bite at a time · haste makes waste · more haste, less speed · all roads lead to Rome · slow and steady wins the race · a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
Translations (51)
ar لَم تُبْنَ رُومَا فِي يَوْم (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · cs Řím nebyl postaven za jeden den (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · gl Roma non se fixo nun día (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · nl Keulen en Aken zijn niet op één dag gebouwd (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · fr Rome ne s'est pas faite en un jour (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · la Rōma nōn ūnō diē aedificāta est (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · da Rom blev ikke bygget på en dag (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · el η Ρώμη δεν χτίστηκε σε μια μέρα (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · nl Rome is niet op één dag gebouwd (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · es no se ganó Zamora en una hora (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · fi ei Roomaakaan päivässä rakennettu (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · ko 로마는 하루 아침에 이루어지지 않았다 (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · cy nid mewn undydd y codwyd Rhufain (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · hu nem egy nap alatt épült fel Róma (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · de Rom ist nicht an einem Tag erbaut worden (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · lt Roma nebuvo pastatyta per dieną (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · mi e kore e taea e te rā o te waru (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · tr sabreden derviş muradına ermiş (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · pl nie od razu Kraków zbudowano (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · nn Roma vart ikkje bygd på éin dag (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · es Roma no se hizo en un día (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · cmn 冰凍三尺，非一日之寒 /冰冻三尺 (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · gd chan ann leis a’ chiad bhuille a thuiteas a’ chraobh (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · cmn 羅馬不是一日建成的 /罗马不是一日建成的 (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · is Róm var ekki byggð á einum degi (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · fi Roomaa ei rakennettu yhdessä päivässä (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · sh Rim nije sagrađen u jednom danu (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · cs Praha nebyla postavena za jeden den (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · ceb dilî tanáng butang sili nga mohaláng dayon (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · sh Рим није саграђен у једном дану (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · eo ne en unu tago elkreskis Kartago (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · it Roma non fu fatta in un giorno (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · uk Рим не одразу збудований (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · th กรุงโรมไม่ได้สร้างเสร็จในวันเดียว (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · et Roomat ei ehitatud ühe päevaga (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · bg хубавите неща стават бавно (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · ja ローマは一日にして成らず (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · hu Róma sem egy nap alatt épült (fel) (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · id Roma tidak dibangun dalam sehari (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · uk Рим не одразу будувався (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · ga i ndiaidh a chéile a thógtar na caisleáin (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · am ሮም፡በአንድ፡ቀን፡አልተገነባችም (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · de Rom wurde nicht in einem Tag erbaut (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · pl nie od razu Rzym zbudowano (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · pt Roma e Pavia não se fizeram num dia (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · he רומא לא נבנתה ביום אחד (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · az Moskva bir günə tikilməyib (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · io Roma ne konstruktesis dum un dio (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · fr Paris ne s'est pas fait en un jour (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · nb Rom ble ikke bygget på en dag (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive) · sv Rom byggdes inte på en dag (it takes a long time to create something complicated or impressive)