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Added 9 October 2026

routine

/ɹuːˈtiːn/ noun

Latin root: rupta Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about routine at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An unvarying or habitual method or procedure.
A short performance that is part of a longer program.
he did his act three times every evening
A set sequence of steps, part of larger computer program.

adjective

Found in the ordinary course of events.
a placid everyday scene

Origin

Unadapted borrowing from French routine. By surface analysis, route + -ine. Further from Latin rupta via. Compare typologically travel << Latin tripālium, whence also travail, note the inverse semantic vector from a subjective state (toil) to an objective action (journey). Also compare Czech běžný (< běžet), Russian обихо́д (obixód), обихо́дный (obixódnyj) (akin to ходи́ть (xodítʹ)).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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