Rite of passage
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 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 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."
- 2 a ritual performed in some cultures at times when an individual changes status (as from adolescence to adulthood) wordnet
- 3 Any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage in a person's life to another. broadly
"After John officially attained his majority, Robert bought him his first beer. This is a common American rite of passage."
Example
More examples"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."
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).