rote1
[roht]
- routine; a fixed, habitual, or mechanical course of procedure: the rote of daily living.
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- proceeding mechanically and repetitiously; being mechanical and repetitious in nature; routine; habitual: rote performance; rote implementation; His behavior became more rote with every passing year.
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- by rote, from memory, without thought of the meaning; in a mechanical way: to learn a language by rote.
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Origin of rote1
1275–1325; Middle English; of obscure origin
rote2
[roht]
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Origin of rote2
1350–1400; Middle English < Old French < Frankish *hrota (compare Old High German hruozza); akin to crowd2
rote3
[roht]
- the sound of waves breaking on the shore.
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Origin of rote3
1600–10; perhaps < Old Norse rauta ‘roar’
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for rote
Contemporary Examples
The stories of discovery are so rote, though, that we forget that they took incredibly hard work.
Using their skill with visual processing, ASDs can learn by rote how to negotiate the neuro-typical world.
So let me just add that true Tiger Cubs aren't satisfied with rote learning.
In the workshop or lab, results are determined by experimentation and creativity, not rote learning.
Historical Examples
Conon stepte to the kynge and presented his rote with a gladde chere.
Shakespeare Jest-Books;Unknown
Slavery taught the Negro to work by rule and rote but not by principle and method.
Our tastes we acquire, with difficulty; our sentiments we learn by rote.
You can teach them to do things by rote, but when an emergency comes they are like putty.
Boy Scouts in the PhilippinesG. Harvey Ralphson
The test has been criticized as too dependent on rote memory.
The Measurement of IntelligenceLewis Madison Terman
rote1
- a habitual or mechanical routine or procedure
- by rote by repetition; by heart (often in the phrase learn by rote)
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Word Origin
C14: origin unknown
rote2
- an ancient violin-like musical instrument; crwth
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Word Origin
C13: from Old French rote, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German rotta, Middle Dutch rotte
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 rote
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with rote
rote
see by heart (rote).
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.