rote
/ɹoʊt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.91 in modern English
4
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Mechanical routine; a fixed, habitual, repetitive, or mechanical course of procedure.
Uncountable
adj
By repetition or practice and without much thought.
noun
A kind of guitar, the notes of which were produced by a small wheel or wheel-like arrangement; an instrument similar to the hurdy-gurdy.
Example Sentences
- "The pastoral scenes from those commercials don’t bear too much resemblance to the rote of daily life on a farm."
- "He could perform by rote any of his roles in Shakespeare."
- "The former may be seen as a more rote form of learning, contrasting with the latter which appears to include "executive" aspects"
- "The Model of it was, That a third Part of the Senate or Parliament, ſhould rote out by Ballot every Year; […]."
- "[Volumnia to Corolianus] "Because that it lies you on to speak/ to th' people, not by your own instruction,/ Nor by th' matter which your heart prompts you,/ But with such words that are but roted in/ your tongue,..." Coriolanus III.ii.52-55"
- "extracting mistuned dirges from their harps, crowds, and rotes"
Etymology
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: rote, rót, -
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɹoʊt/
- British English: /ɹəʊt/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more rote (comparative)
most rote (superlative)
rotes (present, singular)
roting (participle, present)
roted (participle, past)
roted (past)
rotes (plural)