Routinism

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The practice of following established routines rigidly and habitually without variation
2. A tendency to perform tasks in a fixed, mechanical way by strictly adhering to set patterns
3. An approach characterized by repetitive and unvarying actions due to loyalty to routine

Etymology: "Routinism" is a plain formation: the noun "routine" with the suffix "-ism," which attaches to a base to name a practice, doctrine, or habitual conduct. The pattern is familiar from words like "heroism" or "capitalism," though here the suffix is applied to a word for a repeated procedure rather than a principle or belief. The base word has its own interesting past. "Routine" comes from French "route," meaning a road or way, and in its earliest English uses it referred to a set course of procedure or a regular way of doing things. The idea of a worn path that travellers keep following carries straight into the modern sense of habitual action, so the suffix simply turns a well-trodden track into a named mode of behaviour.

Synonyms: routine, habit, custom, practice, ritual

Antonyms: spontaneity, innovation, novelty, originality, change