tradition
/trəˈdɪʃ(ə)n
/noun
1 [mass noun] The transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way: members of different castes have by tradition been associated with specific occupations...
- They are required to by tradition and tribal law passed down by generations of swing elders.
- The break with tradition has generated a heated debate on Internet fans' forums over the weekend, with supporters divided on the proposed name change.
- By definition, a legend is an unverified story handed down by tradition.
Synonyms
historical convention, unwritten law, oral history, heritage;
lore, folklore, old wives' tales
1.1 [count noun] A long-established custom or belief that has been passed on from one generation to another: Japan’s unique cultural traditions...
- Basotho are a nation that has solid traditions, beliefs and customs.
- Such a state of confusing dilemma caused heavy blow to the age-old traditions and beliefs of these cultures.
- Passing on Hindu traditions to the younger generation has always been a duty of parents.
Synonyms
custom, practice, convention, ritual, ceremony, observance, wont, routine, way, rule, usage, habit;
institution, principle, belief
formal praxis
1.2 [in singular] An artistic or literary method or style established by an artist, writer, or movement, and subsequently followed by others: visionary works in the tradition of William Blake...
- But this Southerner first came into his own as a northern Expressionist in the tradition of Edvard Munch.
- Cornelius's works, essentially linear in the tradition of Dürer, avoid painterly composition or colour.
- In the tradition of folk artists everywhere, Nana taught her to sew and knit, instilling in her the sense of the art in the handcrafted.
Synonyms
style, movement, method
2 Theology A doctrine believed to have divine authority though not in the scriptures, in particular:
2.1 [mass noun] (In Christianity) doctrine not explicit in the Bible but held to derive from the oral teaching of Christ and the Apostles.One conspicuous tradition within Christianity says boldly that people are saved only by and in faith in Jesus Christ....
- They dictate that to be a Roman Catholic is to be loyal to the Pope and the institution alone, regardless of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the tradition of the Church.
- First, though, let us review the ironic neglect of Spirit in our Western Christian tradition.
2.2(In Judaism) an ordinance of the oral law not in the Torah but held to have been given by God to Moses.Jewish tradition emphasizes that the Torah was given not to angels but to human beings....
- Jewish tradition says that Kaddish is so powerful that the whole world is maintained because of it.
- Its logic isn't drawn so much from the traditions of Judaism and its reliance on Torah, however.
2.3(In Islam) a saying or act ascribed to the Prophet but not recorded in the Koran. See Hadith.In the report, he also alleged interrogators ridiculed the Muslim religion, its traditions and the Koran....
- There is a tradition of the Prophet which shows that he considered knowledge as his weapon.
- Thus the incidental killing of women and children has the sanction in the traditions of the Prophet.
Derivatives
traditionary
- The implications of such claims, needless to say, are a far cry from traditionary assumptions about romance being a tissue of impossible fantasies and history being a discourse of empirical truth.
- The demonstration plot obtained better yield and better quality compared with the traditionary yield.
- The Muslims, likewise, have been held in the bondage of traditionary forms and ceremonials.
traditionist
- However, the historians and traditionists are unanimous that the official codex was adopted under the third Caliph Uthman.
- It correctly perceived a shift in interpretative focus away from the Bible's literal narrative and toward the authors and traditionists behind or below that narrative.
- The sources suggest that his reputation as a traditionist went far beyond those circles and groups that are identified with him.
traditionless
- This characteristic functions as the tradition (for a notoriously traditionless people) of accountability.
- But from the point of view of certain strands of Protestantism that became very dominant, it was a traditionless Christianity.
- Consequently an organized faction finds it easier to challenge the authority of the leaders, for in a traditionless society all articulate men are equal.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French tradicion, or from Latin traditio(n-), from tradere 'deliver, betray', from trans- 'across' + dare 'give'.
A tradition is something passed on and comes from Latin from tradere ‘deliver’ formed from trans- ‘across’ and dare ‘give’. The abbreviation trad dates from the 1950s, usually in the context of jazz. Traitor (Middle English), someone who hands over things to the enemy, and treason (Middle English) the act of handing over, are from the same root.