tradition

Definitions

trans- (across) + dit (give) + -ion (act) = the act of 'giving across' — handing knowledge or custom from one generation to the next. A tradition is literally something handed over through time, like passing a torch down a line of runners.

Why It Means This

The same Latin verb tradere ('to hand over') split into two very different English words. Hand something good across the generations and you get tradition. Hand something over to the enemy — your country, your friends — and you get traitor. The act is identical; only what you hand over, and to whom, makes one honorable and the other a betrayal.

Common Collocations

• 1.long tradition悠久传统
• 2.cultural tradition文化传统
• 3.uphold a tradition传承/坚守传统
• 4.break with tradition打破传统
• 5.rich tradition深厚的传统

Example Sentences

• 1.

  It's a family tradition to cook dumplings together on New Year's Eve.

• 2.

  The village still keeps alive traditions that are centuries old.

• 3.

  He was trained in the classical tradition of European painting.

Easily Confused

tradition vs custom vs convention — a custom is any regular practice ('it's our custom to nap after lunch'); a tradition is a custom valued for being passed down ('a Christmas tradition'); a convention is an agreed rule of behavior, often unspoken ('the convention of shaking hands'). Tradition looks backward to ancestors; convention looks sideways to what society currently expects.