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tradition - 7 dictionary results

tra⋅di⋅tion

  [truh-dish-uhn]
Use tradition in a Sentence
–noun
1. the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, esp. by word of mouth or by practice: a story that has come down to us by popular tradition.
2. something that is handed down: the traditions of the Eskimos.
3. a long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting: The rebellious students wanted to break with tradition.
4. a continuing pattern of culture beliefs or practices.
5. a customary or characteristic method or manner: The winner took a victory lap in the usual track tradition.
6. Theology.
a. (among Jews) body of laws and doctrines, or any one of them, held to have been received from Moses and originally handed down orally from generation to generation.
b. (among Christians) a body of teachings, or any one of them, held to have been delivered by Christ and His apostles but not originally committed to writing.
c. (among Muslims) a hadith.
7. Law. an act of handing over something to another, esp. in a formal legal manner; delivery; transfer.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME tradicion < OF < L trāditiōn- (s. of trāditiō) a handing over or down, transfer, equiv. to trādit(us), ptp. of trādere to give over, impart, surrender, betray (trā-, var. of trāns- trans- + -ditus, comb. form of datus given; see date 1 ) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms:
tra⋅di⋅tion⋅less, adjective

Synonyms:
2. custom, practice, habit, convention, usage.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tradition
tra·di·tion   (trə-dĭsh'ən)   
n.  
  1. The passing down of elements of a culture from generation to generation, especially by oral communication.
    1. A mode of thought or behavior followed by a people continuously from generation to generation; a custom or usage.
    2. A set of such customs and usages viewed as a coherent body of precedents influencing the present: followed family tradition in dress and manners. See Synonyms at heritage.
  3. A body of unwritten religious precepts.
  4. A time-honored practice or set of such practices.
  5. Law Transfer of property to another.

[Middle English tradicion, from Old French, from Latin trāditiō, trāditiōn-, from trāditus, past participle of trādere, to hand over, deliver, entrust : trā-, trāns-, trans- + dare, to give; see dō- in Indo-European roots.]
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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Tradition

Tra*di"tion\, n. [OE. tradicioun, L. traditio, from tradere to give up, transmit. See Treason, Traitor.]

1. The act of delivering into the hands of another; delivery. "A deed takes effect only from the tradition or delivery." --Blackstone.

2. The unwritten or oral delivery of information, opinions, doctrines, practices, rites, and customs, from father to son, or from ancestors to posterity; the transmission of any knowledge, opinions, or practice, from forefathers to descendants by oral communication, without written memorials.

3. Hence, that which is transmitted orally from father to son, or from ancestors to posterity; knowledge or belief transmitted without the aid of written memorials; custom or practice long observed.

Will you mock at an ancient tradition begun upon an honorable respect? --Shak.

Naught but tradition remains of the beautiful village of Grand-Pr['e]. --Longfellow.

4. (Theol.) (a) An unwritten code of law represented to have been given by God to Moses on Sinai.

Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered. --Mark vii. 13. (b) That body of doctrine and discipline, or any article thereof, supposed to have been put forth by Christ or his apostles, and not committed to writing.

Stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word or our epistle. --2 Thess. ii. 15.

Tradition Sunday (Eccl.), Palm Sunday; -- so called because the creed was then taught to candidates for baptism at Easter.

Tradition

Tra*di"tion\, v. t. To transmit by way of tradition; to hand down. [Obs.]

The following story is . . . traditioned with very much credit amongst our English Catholics. --Fuller.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : tradition
Spanish: tradición,
German: die Tradition,
Japanese: 伝統
More Translations »

tradition 
c.1380, from O.Fr. tradicion (1292), from L. traditionem (nom. traditio) "delivery, surrender, a handing down," from traditus, pp. of tradere "deliver, hand over," from trans- "over" + dare "to give" (see date (1)). The word is a doublet of treason (q.v.). The notion in the modern sense of the word is of things "handed down" from generation to generation. Traditional is recorded from c.1600; in ref. to jazz, from 1950. Slang trad, short for trad(itional jazz) is recorded from 1956; its general use for "traditional" is recorded from 1963.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: tra·di·tion
Function: noun
Etymology: French, legal transfer
in the civil law of Louisiana : transfer or acquisition of property esp. by delivery with intent of both parties to transfer the title tradition —Louisiana Civil Code>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Tradition

any kind of teaching, written or spoken, handed down from generation to generation. In Mark 7:3, 9, 13, Col. 2:8, this word refers to the arbitrary interpretations of the Jews. In 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6, it is used in a good sense. Peter (1 Pet. 1:18) uses this word with reference to the degenerate Judaism of the "strangers scattered" whom he addresses (comp. Acts 15:10; Matt. 15:2-6; Gal. 1:14).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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