tradition（n.）
14世纪晚期，“代代相传的陈述、信仰或实践”，尤指“基于摩西法的信仰或实践”，源自于古法语 tradicion “传输、呈现、交接”（13世纪晚期），直接源自拉丁语 traditionem（主格 traditio）“交付、投降、传递、放弃”（也指“教学、指导”和“从前的时代传下来的话语”）。这是由 tradere 的过去分词词干构成的动作名词，该词源自于 trans- “越过”（参见 trans-）和 dare “给予”（源自于 PIE 词根 *do- “给予”）。该词是 treason（参见该词）的同源词。指“长期存在的习俗”是从1590年代开始的。这个概念是指习惯、方式、信仰、教义等“代代相传”的东西。
Tradition is not solely, or even primarily, the maintenance of certain dogmatic beliefs; these beliefs have come to take their living form in the course of the formation of a tradition. What I mean by tradition involves all those habitual actions, habits and customs, from the most significant religious rite to our conventional way of greeting a stranger, which represent the blood kinship of 'the same people living in the same place'. ... We become conscious of these items, or conscious of their importance, usually only after they have begun to fall into desuetude, as we are aware of the leaves of a tree when the autumn wind begins to blow them off—when they have separately ceased to be vital. Energy may be wasted at that point in a frantic endeavour to collect the leaves as they fall and gum them onto the branches: but the sound tree will put forth new leaves, and the dry tree should be put to the axe. [T.S. Eliot, "After Strange Gods"]
传统不仅仅是维护某些教条信仰； 这些信仰在传统形成的过程中已经形成了它们的生动形式。我所说的传统包括所有那些习惯性的行动、习惯和习俗，从最重要的宗教仪式到我们对陌生人的惯常问候方式，它们代表了“生活在同一地方的同一民族”的血缘关系。......我们通常只有在它们开始逐渐失去活力时，才会意识到这些项目或它们的重要性，就像秋风开始吹落树叶时我们才会意识到树叶一样。在这一点上，可能会浪费能量，疯狂地试图在树叶落下时将它们收集起来并粘在树枝上：但是健康的树会长出新的叶子，而干枯的树应该被砍掉。[T.S.艾略特，“奇怪的神之后”]
该词起源时间：14世纪末