rit

‖a. [ It. ] (Mus.) Retarding; -- a direction for slower time; rallentado. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ritus; cf. Skr. rīti a stream, a running, way, manner, ri to flow: cf. F. rit, rite. CF. Rivulet. ] The act of performing divine or solemn service, as established by law, precept, or custom; a formal act of religion or other solemn duty; a solemn observance; a ceremony; as, the rites of freemasonry. [ 1913 Webster ]

He looked with indifference on rites, names, and forms of ecclesiastical polity. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Form; ceremony; observance; ordinance. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ It. ] (Mus.) Held back; holding back; ritardando. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ ‖ } n. [ It. ritornello, dim. of ritorno return, fr. ritornare to return: cf. F. ritournelle. ] (Mus.) (a) A short return or repetition; a concluding symphony to an air, often consisting of the burden of the song. (a) A short intermediate symphony, or instrumental passage, in the course of a vocal piece; an interlude. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.[ It. ] A picture. Sterne. [ 1913 Webster ]

a.[ L. ritualis, fr. ritus a rite: cf. F. rituel. ] Of or pertaining to rites or ritual; as, ritual service or sacrifices; the ritual law. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. rituel. ] 1. A prescribed form of performing divine service in a particular church or communion; as, the Jewish ritual. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence, the code of ceremonies observed by an organization; as, the ritual of the freemasons. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A book containing the rites to be observed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. ritualisme. ] 1. A system founded upon a ritual or prescribed form of religious worship; adherence to, or observance of, a ritual. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Specifically :(a) The principles and practices of those in the Church of England, who in the development of the Oxford movement, so-called, have insisted upon a return to the use in church services of the symbolic ornaments (altar cloths, encharistic vestments, candles, etc.) that were sanctioned in the second year of Edward VI., and never, as they maintain, forbidden by competennt authority, although generally disused. Schaff-Herzog Encyc. (b) Also, the principles and practices of those in the Protestant Episcopal Church who sympathize with this party in the Church of England. [ 1913 Webster ]