rites

[rahyt] Origin

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.
EXPAND
6.
any customary observance or practice: the rite of afternoon tea.
COLLAPSE

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

rite·less, adjective
rite·less·ness, noun

right, rite, wright, write.


1. observance, form, usage. See ceremony.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Rites is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

rite
early 14c., 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 translated from Fr. rite de passage, coined by French anthropologist Arnold van Gennep (18731957).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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