Origin
This phrase was a French proverb in the late 1100s but was not recorded in English until 1545.
Explanation
The ancient Roman Empire is considered a very beautiful and great symbol of the past. The city of Rome was its capital. Rome is renowned for its architectural beauty. It has many beautiful buildings, parks, gardens and fountains. But all those things were not built overnight. It took the pain and labour of many slaves to complete the construction. So, it is a fact that nothing can be achieved overnight. We simply cannot hope to achieve anything great within a day. Only through patient and hard labour can anything of real significance be achieved. Writing a book for example cannot be achieved with a computer or modern technology alone. It needs real brain work. Only by using one’s imagination and patient toil can such a thing be done. Likewise, if we want to reach high position in life, we should put in hard toil for years. This proverb metaphorically means great position can be reached only through persistent work.This is an apt proverb for those who hope for instant success. But it is true that a great achievement always requires persistent effort and planning. The statement is meant to emphasize that no achievement worth the name can be attained overnight.
Examples
Sometimes it feels like we’ve spent all our life decorating this house. Well, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
It is taking me a long time to write this computer program. well, Rome was not built in day.
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