customary

American  

[kuhs-tuh-mer-ee] / ˈkʌs təˌmɛr i /

adjective

1. according to or depending on custom; usual; habitual.

   Synonyms:

   regular, common, conventional, accustomed, wonted

   Antonyms:

   uncommon

2. of or established by custom rather than law.

3. Law. defined by long-continued practices.

   the customary service due from land in a manor.

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noun

PLURAL

customaries

1. a book or document containing the legal customs or customary laws of a locality.

2. any body of such customs or laws.

customary British  

/ ˈkʌstəmərɪ, -təmrɪ /

adjective

1. in accordance with custom or habitual practice; usual; habitual

2. law

   1. founded upon long continued practices and usage rather than law

   2. (of land, esp a feudal estate) held by custom

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noun

1. 1. a statement in writing of customary laws and practices

   2. a body of such laws and customs

Related Words

See usual.

Other Word Forms

• customarily adverb
• customariness noun
• noncustomarily adverb
• noncustomary adjective
• uncustomarily adverb
• uncustomary adjective

Etymology

Origin of customary

First recorded in 1375–1425; 1515–25 for current senses; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin custumārius, customārius, equivalent to costum(i)a, “custom” (also in Vulgar Latin; custom ) + -ārius -ary

Example Sentences

In the Wong Kim Ark ruling, the court relied on this “customary law of England, brought to America by the colonists.”

From Salon

The commentariat has responded to the document in all the customary ways.

From The Wall Street Journal

This “customary affinity for the socially bizarre” — as the New York Times put it in a 1976 article on SoCal’s “flourishing” psychics — has been a curiosity for those who come from colder coasts.

From Los Angeles Times

The lack of the customary personal and corporate fig-leafing is what signals a new and different era.

From The Wall Street Journal

But as is customary with Summers’ explanations, it raises more questions than it answers.

From Salon

Related Words

• accepted
• traditional