Idiom Origins - Rolling stone gathers no moss - History of Rolling stone gathers no moss

Rolling stone gathers no moss

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Origin of: Rolling stone gathers no moss

Rolling stone gathers no moss

An ancient Greek and Roman proverb first mentioned in the works of Publius Syrus, also referred to as Plublilius Syrus, c. first century BC, Maxim 524. It first appears in English in John Heywood Proverbs (1546). A rolling stone has been a metaphor for a wastrel or a wanderer since the 16th century. A wastrel never settles in one job or in one place and rarely accomplishes anything of value, just as moss will not grow on a stone if it is continually moved.