routine

Definition

A course of action to be followed regularly; a standard procedure.

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French routine. By surface analysis, route + -ine. Further from Latin rupta via. Compare typologically travel << Latin tripālium, whence also travail, note the inverse semantic vector from a subjective state (toil) to an objective action (journey).

Example Sentences

• "Connie was completely robotic and emotionless by age 12; her entire life had become one big routine."
• "It is never possible to settle down to the ordinary routine of life at sea until the screw begins to revolve. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy."
• "stand-up comedy routine"