rite of passage

noun

1. Anthropology. a ceremony performed to facilitate or mark a person's change of status upon any of several highly important occasions, as at the onset of puberty or upon entry into marriage or into a clan.
2. any important act or event that serves to mark a passage from one stage of life to another.

rite of passage

/ rit də pɑsaʒ /

noun

1. a ceremony performed in some cultures at times when an individual changes his status, as at puberty and marriage
2. a significant event in a transitional period of someone's life

Word History and Origins

Origin of rite of passage¹

First recorded in 1955–60