tradition

[truh-dish-uhn]

noun

1. the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice.

   a story that has come down to us by popular tradition.

2. something that is handed down.

   the traditions of the American South.

   Synonyms: usage, convention, habit, practice, custom

3. a long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting.

   The rebellious students wanted to break with tradition.

4. a continuing pattern of culture beliefs or practices.

5. a customary or characteristic method or manner.

   The winner took a victory lap in the usual track tradition.

6. Theology.

   1. (among Jews) body of laws and doctrines, or any one of them, held to have been received from Moses and originally handed down orally from generation to generation.

   2. (among Christians) a body of teachings, or any one of them, held to have been delivered by Christ and His apostles but not originally committed to writing.

   3. (among Muslims) a hadith.

7. Law.,  an act of handing over something to another, especially in a formal legal manner; delivery; transfer.

tradition

/ trəˈdɪʃən /

noun

1. the handing down from generation to generation of the same customs, beliefs, etc, esp by word of mouth

2. the body of customs, thought, practices, etc, belonging to a particular country, people, family, or institution over a relatively long period

3. a specific custom or practice of long standing

4. Christianity a doctrine or body of doctrines regarded as having been established by Christ or the apostles though not contained in Scripture

5. (often capital) Judaism a body of laws regarded as having been handed down from Moses orally and only committed to writing in the 2nd century _ad

6. the beliefs and customs of Islam supplementing the Koran, esp as embodied in the Sunna

7. law Roman law Scots law the act of formally transferring ownership of movable property; delivery

Other Word Forms

• traditionless adjective
• antitradition adjective
• countertradition noun
• nontradition noun
• protradition adjective
• traditionist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tradition¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English tradicion, from Old French, from Latin trāditiōn- (stem of trāditiō ) “a handing over or down, transfer,” equivalent to trādit(us), past participle of trādere “to give over, impart, surrender, betray” ( trā-, variant of trāns- trans- + -ditus, combining form of datus “given”; date ¹ ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of tradition¹

C14: from Latin trāditiō a handing down, surrender, from trādere to give up, transmit, from _trans- + dāre to give

Example Sentences

“And it is causing irreparable harm to California, our Nation’s democratic traditions, and the rule of law.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But the Roman emperor was the first to break with tradition and distribute them to ensure his subjects understood that he possessed absolute power and, not incidentally, controlled the empire’s money supply.

Read more on Salon

“This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition,” she added: “This is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Carmakers have a long tradition of using so-called "just-in-time delivery", where parts are not held in stock but delivered from suppliers exactly where and when they are needed.

Read more on BBC

"Our essence is in our designs, in our products and we mustn't let that go. When we lose our customs and traditions, we are left with nothing."

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• belief 
• culture 
• custom 
• ethic 
• folklore 
• form 
• habit 
• heritage 
• idea 
• institution 
• law 
• legend 
• lore 
• myth 
• mythology 
• orthodoxy 
• practice 
• ritual 
• wisdom