Routines

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A set of regular or repeated procedures or actions that are performed habitually
2. Commonly followed sequences of tasks or activities done in a fixed manner
3. Established patterns or schedules of behavior or operations carried out routinely

Etymology: The plural "routines" is simply the form of "routine," so the story lies in the noun itself. Its origin is a surprise: "routine" began as a French word for a path, and the sense of a fixed round of habits came later. The French "route" (a road or way) comes from Latin "rupta," meaning "broken," as in a road broken open through the countryside, and "routine" was built from "route" with the French suffix "-ine," so the word literally means something like "the usual road." The journey sense is the reverse of a more familiar pattern. Its ancestor "travail" meant a labour, not a trip; "travel" once carried the idea of toil before it came to mean moving from one place to another. Routines follow a similar arc, turning from a physical track into an abstract pattern of habit.

Synonyms: habits, practices, regimens

Antonyms: chaos, disorder