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rite - 5 dictionary results
rite
[rahyt]
–noun
| 1. | a formal or ceremonial act or procedure prescribed or customary in religious or other solemn use: rites of baptism; sacrificial rites. |
| 2. | a particular form or system of religious or other ceremonial practice: the Roman rite. |
| 3. | (often initial capital letter ) one of the historical versions of the Eucharistic service: the Anglican Rite. |
| 4. | (often initial capital letter ) liturgy. |
| 5. | (sometimes initial capital letter ) Eastern Church, Western Church. a division or differentiation of churches according to liturgy. |
| 6. | any customary observance or practice: the rite of afternoon tea. |
Origin:
1275–1325; ME (< OF rit(e)) < L rītus
1275–1325; ME (< OF rit(e)) < L rītus

Related forms:
riteless, adjective
rite⋅less⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To rite
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Rite
Rite\, n. [L. ritus; cf. Skr. r[=i]ti a stream, a running, way, manner, ri to flow: cf. F. rit, rite. CF. Rivulet.] The act of performing divine or solemn service, as established by law, precept, or custom; a formal act of religion or other solemn duty; a solemn observance; a ceremony; as, the rites of freemasonry. He looked with indifference on rites, names, and forms of ecclesiastical polity. --Macaulay. Syn: Form; ceremony; observance; ordinance.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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rite
c.1315, from L. ritus "religious observance or ceremony, custom, usage," perhaps from PIE base *re(i)- "to count, number" (cf. Gk. arithmos "number," O.E. rim "number"). Rite of passage (1909) is transl. from Fr. rite de passage, coined by Fr. anthropologist Arnold van Gennep (1873–1957).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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rite
the performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by tradition or by sacerdotal decree. Ritual is a specific, observable mode of behaviour exhibited by all known societies. It is thus possible to view ritual as a way of defining or describing humans.
Learn more about rite with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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