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when in Rome, do as the Romans do

when in Rome, do as the Romans do proverb: when situated in a foreign place, it is wise to follow the local customs.

Proverb

when in Rome, do as the Romans do

  1. (strictly) When situated in a foreign place, it is wise to follow the local customs.
    • […] but, as I seated myself at table, I thought how my friends in Scotland would stare to see stewed monkey, roasted mermaid, and a pepper-pot of macaws, set down on table for their repast. But my plan always has been when in Rome to do as Rome does; and we found our food both delicate and cooked...1834, Thomas Staunton St. Clair, A Soldier's Recollections of the West Indies and America, with a Narrative of the Expedition to the Island of Walcheren, volume 1, London: Richard Bentley, page 345
    • It will be observed that the document is written in the ordinary style of English correspondence, for Mehemet Ali endeavours to adopt European habits as far as he possibly can, and, as when in Rome he would do as Rome does, so his son, being in this country, is addressed as an Englishman.1846, “A Letter from Mehemet Ali to Ibrahim Pacha”, in Punch, or the London Charivari, volume 11, London, page 35
    Synonyms:
    when in Rome
  2. (broadly, idiomatic) It is wise to adapt to the circumstances; it is wise to follow common custom.
    • But my friend says, ‘when in Rome, we must do as Rome does,’ Ah! this is the very principle of an ungodly world; and Christians have caught the spirit, and are acting up to it. Peter and Paul were in Rome.—If they had done as Rome did, they would not have suffered death there. If we were in Rome...1842 July, “The Opinion of the Apostle Peter Respecting Trifles”, in Barton W. Stone, editor, The Christian Messenger, volume 12, number 9, Jacksonville, IL, page 282
    • I know of many instances where such persons have been under the necessity of buying or hiring slaves, just to preserve their reputation and keep up appearances; and even among a class of people who profess to be opposed to Slavery, have I known instances of the same kind, and have heard them...1857, Austin Steward, Twenty-two Years a Slave, and Forty Years a Freeman; Embracing a Correspondence of Several Years, While President of Wilberforce Colony, London, Canada West, Rochester, NY...

when in Rome, do as the Romans do meaning in Hindi, Arabic, Persian and Vietnamese

when in Rome, do as the Romans do in Hindi

behave as those around do
जैसा देश वैसा भेष jaisā deś vaisā bheṣ

when in Rome, do as the Romans do in Arabic

behave as those around do
عِنْدَمَا تَكُون فِي رُومَا، اِفْعَل مَا يَفْعَلَه الرُّومَان ʕindamā takūn fī rūmā, ifʕal mā yafʕalah ar-rūmān

when in Rome, do as the Romans do in Persian

behave as those around do
خواهی نشوی رسوا همرنگ جماعت شو xâhi našvi rosvâ hamrang jamâ'at šav

when in Rome, do as the Romans do in Vietnamese

behave as those around do
nhập gia tùy tục
More languagesFewer languages
when in Rome, do as the Romans do in Myanmar
ရောမရောက်ရင် ရောမလို ကျင့်ရမယ် rau:ma.rauk-rang rau:ma.lui kyang.ra.mai

Synonyms of when in Rome, do as the Romans do

Forms of when in Rome, do as the Romans do

alternative formwhen in Rome, do as the Romans
alternative formwhen in Rome, do like the Romans do

Origin of when in Rome, do as the Romans do

The first attestation is Medieval Latin si fueris Rōmae, Rōmānō vīvitō mōre; si fueris alibī, vīvitō sīcut ibī (“if you should be in Rome, live in the Roman manner; if you should be elsewhere, live as they do there”), which is attributed to St Ambrose (c. 339–397). Robert Burton in his Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) uses the phrase “When they are at Rome, they doe there as they ſee done.”

Questions about when in Rome, do as the Romans do

What does when in Rome, do as the Romans do mean?
When in Rome, do as the Romans do means when situated in a foreign place, it is wise to follow the local customs.
What is when in Rome, do as the Romans do in Hindi?
When in Rome, do as the Romans do in Hindi is जैसा देश वैसा भेष (jaisā deś vaisā bheṣ). See When in Rome, do as the Romans do meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is when in Rome, do as the Romans do?
When in Rome, do as the Romans do is a proverb.

Words near when in Rome, do as the Romans do in the dictionary

  1. when Hell freezes over
  2. when I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck
  3. when in doubt, do nowt
  4. when in Rome
  5. when in Rome, do as the Romans
  6. when in Rome, do as the Romans do
  7. when in Rome, do like the Romans do
  8. when is closing time
  9. when it came to
  10. when it comes to
  11. when it rains, it pours

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: when in Rome, do as the Romans do (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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