rite

[rahyt]

See more synonyms for rite on Thesaurus.com

noun

a formal or ceremonial act or procedure prescribed or customary in religious or other solemn use: rites of baptism; sacrificial rites.
a particular form or system of religious or other ceremonial practice: the Roman rite.
(often initial capital letter) a liturgy or liturgical system, especially one of the historical versions of the Eucharistic service: the Anglican Rite.

(sometimes initial capital letter) Eastern Church, Western Church. a division or differentiation of churches based on liturgical practice.
any customary observance or practice: the rite of afternoon tea.

Origin of rite

1275–1325; Middle English (< Old French rit(e)) < Latin rītus

Related formsrite·less, adjectiverite·less·ness, noun

Can be confusedright rite wright write

Synonyms for rite

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1. observance, form, usage.

Synonym study

1. See ceremony.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for rite

observance, formality, ritual, sacrament, custom, liturgy, occasion, procedure, celebration, form, service, solemnity, ordinance, practice, communion, act, ceremonial

Examples from the Web for rite

Contemporary Examples of rite

In the neighborhoods they grow up in, prison is a rite of passage and being a street gangster is a viable career choice.
The Mexican Mafia Is the Daddy of All Street Gangs
Seth Ferranti
December 11, 2014
For anyone whose political sympathies lie left of center, discovering and reading Chomsky is a rite of passage.
Noam Chomsky—Infuriating and Necessary
David Masciotra
September 28, 2014
A rite of passage solely reserved for adolescent girls, the painful custom is believed to be as old as the local creation myth.
Facial Tattoos: The Tribal Female Rite in Papua New Guinea
Brandon Presser
August 11, 2014
Doing well at the Gridiron is a rite of passage that not everybody survives.
The GOP’s Comedy Gap
Eleanor Clift
March 10, 2014
Walgreens and Rite Aid—seeing the glowing publicity CVS is benefitting from—will quickly follow suit.
The War on Smoking Didn’t Save My Mother’s Life, but It Could Save Many More
Joe Concha
February 5, 2014

Historical Examples of rite

I believe it is the place where the rite of circumcision is performed.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
I will yield nothing, whether in discipline, or in rite, or in dogma.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
They are going up to the city for the Mohammedan rite of circumcision.
Out-of-Doors in the Holy Land
Henry Van Dyke
Therefore the solemn process, rite, and ceremony of purification had to be performed.
A Great Man
Arnold Bennett
All his people had gathered in a loose circle, as though attending a rite.
Houlihan's Equation
Walt Sheldon

British Dictionary definitions for rite

rite

noun

a formal act or procedure prescribed or customary in religious ceremoniesfertility rites; the rite of baptism
a particular body of such acts or procedures, esp of a particular Christian Churchthe Latin rite
a Christian Churchthe Greek rite

Word Origin for rite

C14: from Latin rītus religious ceremony

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rite

early 14c., from Latin ritus "religious observance or ceremony, custom, usage," perhaps from PIE root *re(i)- "to count, number" (cf. Greek arithmos "number," Old English rim "number;" see read (v.)). Rite of passage (1909) is translated from French rite de passage, coined by French anthropologist Arnold van Gennep (1873-1957).