Rituals
/ˈrɪtʃ.u.əlz/noun
Customary ceremonies or prescribed forms of behavior.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from Latin *ritus*, meaning a religious rite or ceremonial observance, so the original power was not the act itself but the exactness of the prescribed form.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*er-
“to fit together, join, or arrange”
Latin
Latin
ritus
“religious rite, ceremonial observance, prescribed religious custom”
Late Latin
Latin
ritualis
“of rites; pertaining to religious ceremonies”
14th Century
English
rituel
“a book containing rites or ceremonial forms”
17th Century
English
ritual
“a prescribed ceremonial form or system of rites”
Modern English
English
rituals
“customary ceremonies or repeated prescribed actions”