Dictionary

rite of passage en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌɹaɪt‿əv ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/ (General-American)
• (General-American) audio
• /ˌɹaɪt‿əv ˈpæsɪd͡ʒ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• [ˌɹaɪɾ‿əv-] (General-American)

Etymology

From rite + of + passage, a calque of French rite de passage. The French term was coined by French ethnographer and folklorist Arnold van Gennep (1873–1957) and popularized in his work Les rites de passage (1909).

Meanings

1. (qualifier:cultural anthropology) A ceremony or series of ceremonies, often very ritualized, to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person's life to another.
   • The so-called rites of passage, which occupy such a prominent place in the life of a primitive society (ceremonials of birth, naming, puberty, marriage, burial, etc.), are distinguished by formal, and usually very severe, exercises of severance, whereby the mind is radically cut away from the attitudes, attachments, and life patterns of the stage being left behind. 1949, Joseph Campbell, “Prologue: The Monomyth”, in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Cleveland, Oh.: Meridian Books, World Publishing Company, published April 1969, →OCLC, page 10:
   • The passage through the jambs would thus signify regeneration or new birth, which was to be followed by either sacrifice or by the purifying rite of passage through the fire; for although the passages are so narrow that they could not be used as ordinary gates, they were wide enough for this purpose, for the sacrificial victims were always youthful. 1897, H[enry] S[wainson] Cowper, “Section IV. The Senams and Their Story”, in The Hill of the Graces: A Record of Investigation among the Trilithons and Megalithic Sites of Tripoli, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, pages 185–186:
2. (broadly) Any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage in a person's life to another.
   • In the final, affirming piece, "They Tell Me...Now I Know," the girlchild narrator begins menstruation, thus undergoing her rite of passage into womanhood. 1989 December 17–23, Terri L. Jewell, “The Power of Black Women Together: Shay Youngblood’s Marvelous Extended Family of Stories [review of The Big Mama Stories (1989) by Shay Youngblood]”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 23, Boston, Mass.: The Bromfield Street Educational Foundation, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 13, column 1:
   • After John officially attained his majority, Robert bought him his first beer. This is a common American rite of passage.
   • Not only did these holiday resorts [Butlin's] become a rite of passage for TV's biggest talents – Red Coats comedians, magicians and presenters were often scouted, then sent to perform live at places like the London Palladium, before securing a television contract – but the culture within them meant that the audience were already invested in this type of entertainment once they returned home. 2021 September 15, Laura Martin, “How talent shows became TV's most bizarre programmes”, in BBC Online, archived from the original on 18 Apr 2023:

Forms

Synonyms

rite de passage

Translations (31)

hu beavatási rítus (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · es rito de paso (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · de Erwachsenwerden (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · sv övergångsrit (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · km សេចក្តីក្លាហានដួងនៃការអនុម័ត (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · th พิธีกรรมเปลี่ยนผ่าน (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · it rito di passaggio (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · sk prechodový rituál (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · nl rite de passage (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · cmn 成年儀式 /成年仪式 (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · is manndómsvígsla (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · de Passageritus (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · ar طَقْس الْعُبُور (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · hu beavatási szertartás (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · de Initiation (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · de Initiationsritus (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · nl overgangsritueel (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · gd deas-ghnàth inbhe (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · da overgangsrite (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · el διαβατήρια τελετή (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · pt rito de passagem (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · es rito de pasamiento (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · fr rite de passage (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · no overgangsrite (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · de Übergangsritus (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · ja 通過儀礼 (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · fi siirtymäriitti (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · cmn 成年禮 /成年礼 (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · pl obrzęd przejścia (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · ru обря́д посвяще́ния (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another) · de Übergangsritual (ceremony or series of ceremonies to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person’s life to another; any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage of a person’s life to another)