rote

Meaning

Noun

Mechanical routine; a fixed, habitual, repetitive, or mechanical course of procedure.

Adj

By repetition or practice and without much thought.

Verb

1. (obsolete) To go out by rotation or succession; to rotate.
2. (transitive) To learn or repeat by rote.

Synonyms

rote learning

repetition

custom

customariness

donkey work

habit

practice

recitation

reciting

routine

use

wont

wontedness

common sense

sound of surf

convention

Translations

abitudine meccanica

ezberden

apprentissage par cœur

συνήθεια

ρουτίνα

nous

breken

herhaling

sleur

nous

automático

decoração

rotina

maquinal

rutina

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɹəʊt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: rote

Cognate with Old French: rote

Cognate with Latin: rota

Cognate with Middle English: routen

Cognate with Middle High German: en

Cognate with English: crowd

In summary

From Middle English rote (“custom, habit, wont, condition, state”), further origin unknown. Found in the Middle English phrase bi rote (“by heart, according to form, expertly”), c. 1300. Some have proposed a relationship either with Old French rote/rute (“route”), or Latin rota (“wheel”) (see rotary), but the OED calls both suggestions groundless. Another explanation might be the metaphorical comparison between anything repetitive and playing the rote.