# traditional

Pronunciation: say "truh-DISH-uh-nuhl" /tɹəˈdɪʃənəl/

## Adjective

1. Established over a long time and widely accepted, in contrast to newer or alternative approaches.
   - Simple: Done in the old, usual way, not in a new or different way.
   - _Many students now take courses online instead of attending traditional classes on campus._
   - _LED bulbs use far less electricity than traditional incandescent ones._
2. Of, relating to, or coming from customs, beliefs, or practices handed down through generations, often by word of mouth.
   - Simple: Connected with customs, beliefs, or ways of doing things passed down through generations, often by word of mouth.
   - _The village still celebrates the harvest with traditional songs and costumes._
   - _Traditional farming methods rely on seasonal cycles rather than imported chemicals._
3. Attached to old customs and established ways of doing things, and inclined to keep them rather than change.
   - Simple: Liking old ways and customs, and not keen on changing them.
   - _His traditional outlook left him uneasy with the company's modern policies._
   - _They remain deeply traditional, observing every custom their parents kept._
5. Relating to the older, fuller forms of Chinese characters, retained in places such as Taiwan and Hong Kong rather than the simplified set used in mainland China.
   - Simple: Describing the older, fuller set of Chinese characters, not the simplified ones used in mainland China.
   - _The newspaper publishes a traditional Chinese edition for its readers overseas._
   - _She switched her keyboard to traditional Chinese before typing the formal invitation._
8. Used in place of a composer's name when the original writer of a piece of music is unknown.
   - Simple: Used to credit a song or tune whose composer is unknown.
   - _On the sleeve notes, the opening reel is listed as traditional, its author lost to history._
   - _The arranger marked the piece traditional because no one knows who composed it._

## Noun

4. Something that is conventional, standard, or customary rather than novel.
   - Simple: Something that is usual, standard, or long-established, rather than something new.
   - _In home design, he favors the traditional over flashy modern trends._
   - _Her set mixed a few new songs with old traditionals that the whole crowd could sing along to._
6. Ellipsis of traditional Chinese. *(colloquial)* — Ellipsis of traditional Chinese.
   - Simple: Short for traditional Chinese: the older, more complex form of Chinese writing used in places like Taiwan and Hong Kong.
   - _Calligraphers in Taiwan still write everything in traditional._
   - _The app lets you switch the menus from simplified to traditional with one tap._
7. A person whose beliefs follow long-established tradition.
   - Simple: Someone who holds on to old beliefs and customs.
   - _By the study's measure, anyone who attended services every week and opposed changes to the liturgy was classed as a traditional._
   - _In the sociologist's model, traditionals draw their values from family and faith, while moderns look to science and personal choice._

## Other meanings

- (noun) Ellipsis of traditional art.
- (noun) Ellipsis of traditional grip.

## Origin

Formed from "tradition" combined with the suffix "-al".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/traditional (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).