tradition
/tɹəˈdɪʃ.ən/noun
tradition is spelled T-R-A-D-I-T-I-O-N: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,992nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tradition means “A part of culture that is passed from person to person or generation to generation, possibly differing in detail from family to family, such as the…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tradition is traditions.
How many letters and syllables are in tradition?
| Letters | 9: T-R-A-D-I-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 32 times per million words; the 2,992nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is tradition?
Tradition appears 32 times per million words in written English, the 2,992nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tradition?
- /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ən/
Tradition has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-tradition.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of tradition
- traditions plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- traditioning participle, present
- traditioned participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tradition mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A part of culture that is passed from person to person or generation to generation, possibly differing in detail from family to family, such as the way to celebrate holidays.
- 2
A commonly held system.
They followed the tradition of lighting candles for special occasions.
- 3
An established or distinctive style or method
Following tradition, the victorious athlete runs a lap around the track.
- 4
The act of delivering into the hands of another; delivery.
- 5
The entirety of a text's transmission; all the versions of a work.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo transmit by way of tradition; to hand down.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate tradition?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of tradition: trad..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tradition in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a part of culture that is passed from person to person or generation to generati:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tradition |
| German | Tradition, Überlieferung, Urüberlieferung |
| Portuguese | tradição |
| Spanish | tradición |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tradition come from?
From Middle English tradicioun, from Old French tradicion, from Latin trāditiō, from the verb trādō. Doublet of treason.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).