custom

n.

1. A practice followed by people of a particular group or region.
2. A habitual practice of a person: my custom of reading a little before sleep. See synonyms at habit.
3. Law. A common tradition or usage so long established that it has the force or validity of law.
4. 1. Habitual patronage, as of a store.
   2. Habitual customers; patrons.
5. customs
   1. Duties or taxes imposed on imported and, less commonly, exported goods.
   2. (used with a sing. verb) The governmental agency authorized to collect these duties.
   3. (used with a sing. verb) The procedure for inspecting goods and baggage entering a country.
6. Tribute, service, or rent paid by a feudal tenant to a lord.

adj.

1. Made to order.
2. Specializing in the making or selling of made-to-order goods: a custom tailor.

[Middle English custume, from Old French costume, from Latin cōnsuētūdō, cōnsuētūdin-, from cōnsuētus, past participle of cōnsuēscere, to accustom : com-, intensive pref.; see com- + suēscere, to become accustomed.]

Usual business or individual practice; habitual tendency followed as a matter of course; traditional policy. An example is for the firm to be closed for business on Sunday.

noun

1. A habitual way of behaving: consuetude, habit, habitude, manner, practice, praxis, usage, usance, use, way, wont. See usual/unusual.
2. The commercial transactions of customers with a supplier: business, patronage, trade, traffic. See transactions.

adjective

Made according to the specifications of the buyer: custom-built, customized, custom-made, made-to-order, tailor-made. See agree/disagree.

n

Definition: habit
Antonyms: phenomenon, rarity

n

Definition: habitual action
Antonyms: departure, deviation, difference, divergence, irregularity

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Public health workers consider the customs of people and communities, especially when they try to encourage the acceptance of health promotion and disease prevention programs or policies. Customs are more than aggregates of individual habits. They are regular, patterned, learned, and traditional ways of appearing or behaving in response to a given situation or occasion. Customs may be reflected in language, greetings, communications, religion, and certainly in health practices that distinguish one social group from another. The complexity of the study of customs was emphasized by the anthropologist Ruth Benedict, who noted in the 1930s that traditional customs the world over consist of a mass of detailed behaviors more varied than that which any one person could ever evolve individually.

Customs are derived from social norms, which are those rules or standards that guide, control, or regulate proper and acceptable behavior of a group. These norms define the shared expectations of a group and enable people to anticipate how others will interpret and respond to their words and actions if there is deviation from a custom. For example, if one has an infectious disease, typically the custom within the general community is to act in a manner to prevent infecting others. Failing that, the customary responses from others may range from ignoring the individual's behavior, verbally reprimanding, or even ostracizing him or her for threatening the health of other members.

A custom may exist at the level of a folkway or a more. Each of these concepts help demarcate the strength and importance of a custom held by a particular group relevant to a particular situation. The concept of folkways was developed by the American sociologist William Graham Sumner and his followers in the early 1900s. "The ways of the folk" arose and persisted over time as repetitive and accumulative patterns of expected behavior for responding to similar social situations or individual needs. They ultimately became incorporated into tradition and received some degree of formal recognition but were not considered of moral significance. Folkways may be reflected in the everyday habits and conventions people obey without giving much thought to the matter, for example, eating three meals a day, drinking alcohol but not to a state of drunkenness, or using the group's "right way" to cure disease. People who violate folkways may be labeled eccentrics and as a rule they are tolerated by the group.

When certain folkways become well established and are regarded by general agreement as highly important and obligatory, as evidenced by strong sentiments against deviation and by severe punishment for violation, they become mores. Mores are customs that represent the absolute truth to the particular group and are the norms people consider vital to their well being and to their most cherished values. They typically take the form of laws, for example, prohibitions against incest, drunk driving, and child abuse. In contrast to folkways, violations of mores by people or groups can provoke intense reactions ranging from being ostracized, beaten, jailed, exiled, or executed.

From the moment of birth, the customs into which the people are born shape their experiences and behavior. In many groups, health-related behavior may be custom bound and very normative—tradition sets the precedent and solves problems, whether by authority or by consensus. Individuals are required to learn about the specific customs that shape their health behavior and to perform what they have learned. In reality, however, by the time children can think independently, the health-related customs of the family group have become an intimate part of their personalities. They do not question these customs, which become deeply held and extremely difficult to change over time. For example, the manner of tobacco, alcohol, and drug use in some groups and communities have become customs or norms, even though such use carries major health risks. Any attempts to eliminate or modify or reverse behaviors so integrally tied to social customs often provokes hostile resistance to a new health program that intends to reduce health-related risks. Also, in many groups the custom is not to talk about certain sensitive topics, such as cancer or the sexual activities of adults or teenagers relevant to preventing pregnancy. For instance, in a particular ethnic group, the custom of its members may be to shun any discussion of cancer. The effect of this custom discourages individuals from initiating early screening behaviors that could save their lives.

Sometimes it is necessary to try to change or circumvent established customs in a community, particularly when this can bring modern health procedures for reducing particular health-related risks. Changing folkways and mores can be a very slow process, and it is not until their functional utility has disappeared that they may gradually change. New practices may then become embedded in the community as new values to be transmitted from one generation to the next. This requires public health workers to gradually adapt the customs and values of a community rather than trying to abruptly and totally change them.

(SEE ALSO: Acculturation; Assimilation; Benefits, Ethics, and Risks; Cultural Norms; Ethics of Public Health; Ethnicity and Health; Immigrants, Immigration)

Bibliography

Benedict, R. (1935). Patterns of Culture. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Huff, R. M., and Kline, M. V., eds. (1999). Promoting Health in Multicultural Populations. Thousands Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Kroeber, A. L. (1948). Anthropology. New York: Harcourt, Brace.

Sumner, W. G. (1906). Folkways. Boston: Ginn.

— MICHAEL V. KLINE

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For more information on custom, visit Britannica.com.

(Heb. minhag). A religious practice followed out of a spontaneous desire of the people rather than a specific biblical or rabbinic injunction. It invariably refers to a practice adopted only in a particular community or region and is therefore known as minhag ha-makom ("local custom"). The sages of the Mishnah laid great stress on the obligation to comply with local custom (cf. Suk. 3:11, Ket. 6:4, BM 7:1), stating that "one should not deviate from the custom of the place in which one finds oneself in order to avoid controversy. Hence a person traveling from one place to another must observe the strictures of both his home town and the place he is visiting" (Pes. 4:1). Nor should one follow in one's home town a ritual that is practiced only in another locality (BB 100b). Differences in custom usually arose when there was a dispute among the halakhic authorities as to whether a certain practice was or was not prohibited, one community deciding to follow the strict opinion and another the more lenient one. Thus, the Mishnah lists a series of practices that were banned in one place but not in another, a situation to which the general rule applies.

Basically, the sages were opposed to communal disunity, some following one practice and others another. In case of doubt, the prevalent custom was to be followed (TJ Pe'ah 7:5). However, the many disputes among the sages made variations in custom inevitable, and they therefore warned against separatist tendencies. As the rabbis pointed out, Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel had differed over fundamental issues, yet "they did not hesitate to intermarry---an indication that there was affection and friendship among them" (Yev. 13b-14b).

In the course of time, differences in ritual and observance arose between Palestinian and Babylonian Jewries, and in Babylonia itself between the two geonic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita. Later still, more differences emerged between Ashkenazim and Sephardim, most of these being codified in the Shulḥan Arukh. Several originated in a ban pronounced by local (Ashkenazi) authorities, e.g., against Polygamy or the consuming of legumes on Passover (see Gezerah; Takkanah). Differences also arose with regard to the "minhag" observed by Ashkenazim and Sephardi-Oriental Jews in matters of prayer rite (see Nusaḥ). Such variations in custom were further accentuated in time as a result of the new practices introduced by Isaac Luria (16th cent.) and, from the mid-18th century, by ḥasidism.

Some distinctive practices are attributable to the Gentile environment in which Jews lived, since they did not remain immune to the customs or life style of their non-Jewish neighbors. (For religiously objectionable customs, see ḥukkat Ha-Goy.) This is evident from peculiarities of dress which Jews adopted and then endowed with religious significance. Thus, the ge'onim ruled that one should wrap oneself in one's Tallit (prayer shawl) "as the Ishmaelites [Arabs] do" (Tur, Oraḥ Ḥayyim 8). Ḥasidic Jews, on Sabbaths and festivals, likewise wear the Polish-style fur hat known as a shtraymel. Additional evidence is provided by the many different minhagim followed by various Jewish communities at wedding ceremonies. Even the use of a ring for the act of Betrothal was not originally a Jewish custom: it is not once mentioned by such an outstanding legal authority as Maimonides (12th cent.), yet was considered normative by the 16th-century codifier Moses ISSERLES. Significantly, too, numerous mourning customs of the talmudic era were declared obsolete in the Middle Ages because they were considered inappropriate in a different social milieu (Tos. to MK 21a)

At the same time, many practices dating back to the talmudic era, though no longer appropriate today , have been retained because of a general reluctance to abandon time-honored custom. The KETUBBAH (marriage contract) and the get (bill of DIVORCE), for example, are still written in the ancient Aramaic formulation. This tendency to retain the customs of other periods and localities---or even to revive talmudic customs fallen into desuetude---is maintained by contemporary Orthodox leadership as a reaction to the anti-traditional measures introduced by reform judaism. The motto of the traditionalists continues to be: "What is customary in Israel is Torah" (Tos. to Men. 20b).

A noticeable tendency has been for some local custom to spread to neighboring communities and eventually to be followed by more and more segments of the Jewish people. Where originally, in talmudic times, not every community accepted the rabbinic ban against eating fowl with milk (Shab. 130a), today it is observed universally. However, the period of time that must elapse after eating meat before one may eat dairy products varies to this day (from one to six hours); it is all a matter of local custom (cf. Ḥul. 105a).

The force of local custom is such that it is carried over from one generation to another; even if the situation is no longer the same, children have to observe "the custom of their fathers." A prominent example of this ruling is the observance of a SECOND DAY of festivals by Jews in the Diaspora (galut). Even though the reason for this extra day no longer applied, Jews outside Erets Israel were told to "retain the custom of your fathers" (Béts. 4b). In economic affairs, local custom determined the hours a laborer had to work and the fringe benefits he should receive, to such an extent that one talmudic rabbi deduced the oft-quoted principle, "Custom nullifies law" (TJ. Yev. 12:3; BM 7:1). It also played an important role in commercial practice, agreements to buy and sell being fixed by local custom. Occasionally, popular custom would actually decide the law: if the sages were in doubt concerning a particular ritual, they would say, "Go see what the people do," and that became authorized practice (Ber. 45a, 52a).

Custom becomes established law when it receives the sanction of the local rabbi or spiritual leader and he includes it in a code of Jewish law written for public guidance. Typical of such codifications is the Sefer Minhagé Maharil, recording the customs observed by Jacob MÖLLN (C. 1360-1427), which serves as the basis for many Ashkenazi practices. The Talmud ruled that, in the event of a community's adopting a certain practice under the mistaken impression that it is required by law, a scholar may advise the community of its error and it may then abandon the custom. Yet if such Jews are cognizant of the law and still wish to practice their custom, they should not be discouraged (Pes. 50b-51a).

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A pattern or habit of action. A custom may exist without any specific basis in reason, but can itself form the basis for rational action, if the custom gives rise to a norm of action. See convention.

Any established pattern of behaviour within a community or society. A custom is an accepted rule of behaviour that is informally regulated. Shaking hands with the umpire is the custom after a tennis match.

Done to the order of the customer on materials owned by the customer, e.g. custom feedlot.

IN BRIEF: A usual thing to do. Also: made especially for someone.

No written law has ever been more binding than unwritten custom supported by popular opinion. — Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947).

Tutor's tip: It is the "custom" (the usual way of doing things) to wear a "costume" (special clothing worn in a play or masquerade) to this kind of party.

Quotes:

"People usually think according to their inclinations, speak according to their learning and ingrained opinions, but generally act according to custom." - Francis Bacon

"Custom reconciles us to everything." - Edmund Burke

"Custom, that unwritten law, By which the people keep even kings in awe." - Charles Davenport

"Of course poets have morals and manners of their own, and custom is no argument with them." - Thomas Hardy

"Without the aid of prejudice and custom, I should not be able to find my way across the room." - William Hazlitt

"Customs form us all, our thoughts, our morals, our most fixed beliefs; are consequences of our place of birth." - Aaron Hill

See more famous quotes about Custom

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - kutyme, vane, stamkunder, toldvæsen, toldstation, hævd
adj. - lavet på bestilling, syet efter mål, som syr efter mål

idioms:

• custom house    toldbygning, toldkammer
• custom made    specialfremstillet, skræddersyet
• Customs and Excise    Told og Skat
• customs house    toldkammer
• customs union    toldunion

Nederlands (Dutch)
gewoonte, zede, klandizie, (mv) douaneheffing/ -dienst, gebruik

Français (French)
n. - coutume, usage, habitude, (Comm) clientèle, (Jur) coutume
adj. - personnalisé

idioms:

• custom house    poste/bureaux de douane
• custom made    personnalisé
• Customs and Excise    (GB) douanes
• customs house    poste/bureaux de douane
• customs union    union douanière

Deutsch (German)
n. - Brauch, Sitte, Kunden, Zoll
adj. - bestellt, auf Bestellung arbeitend, spezialgefertigt

idioms:

• custom house    Zollamt
• custom made    nach Maß (angefertigt)
• Customs and Excise    Zölle und Verbrauchsteuern
• customs house    Zollamt
• customs union    Zollunion

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - έθιμο, (πατροπαράδοτη) συνήθεια, προσωπική συνήθεια, πελατεία, (πληθ.) τελωνείο, (επίθ.) κατ' επιλογήν του πελάτη, επί παραγγελία

idioms:

• custom house    τελωνείο
• custom made    κατασκευασμένος επί μέτρω/παραγγελία
• Customs and Excise    (Βρετ.) υπηρεσία είσπραξης και διαχείρισης των έμμεσων φόρων
• customs house    τελωνείο
• customs union    (οικον.) τελωνειακή ένωση

Italiano (Italian)
dogana, uso, usi, usanza, costume, consuetudine, abitudine, clientela

idioms:

• custom/s house    ufficio dogana
• Customs and Excise    il fisco
• customs union    tariffe comuni interstatali

Português (Portuguese)
n. - costume (m)

idioms:

• custom made    feito sob encomenda
• custom(s) house    alfândega (f)
• Customs and Excise    taxas (f pl) ou impostos (m pl) alfandegários e de consumo
• customs union    acordo (m) aduaneiro entre vários países

Русский (Russian)
обычай, привычка, клиентура

idioms:

• custom made    изготовленный на заказ
• custom(s) house    таможня
• Customs and Excise    британская таможня
• customs union    таможенный союз

Español (Spanish)
n. - costumbre, usanza, uso, hábito, clientela
adj. - derechos de aduana, a medida, de medida

idioms:

• custom house    aduana, oficina fronteriza o portuaria
• custom made    hecho a la medida, confección de medida
• Customs and Excise    departamento de administración de aranceles aduaneros
• customs house    aduana, oficina fronteriza o portuaria
• customs union    unión aduanera

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - sedvänja, skick o bruk, kutym, gammal hävd (jur.), kundkrets

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
习惯, 海关, 风俗, 订做的, 订制的

idioms:

• custom house    海关
• custom made    定做的
• Customs and Excise    关税和消费税
• customs house    海关
• customs union    关税同盟

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 習慣, 海關, 風俗
adj. - 訂做的, 訂製的

idioms:

• custom house    海關
• custom made    定做的
• Customs and Excise    關稅和消費稅
• customs house    海關
• customs union    關稅同盟

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 습관, 관습법, 관세
adj. - 주문의, 세관의

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 慣習, 習慣, 関税, 愛顧, お得意先, 税関, 通関手続, 顧客
adj. - あつらえの, 注文で作る

idioms:

• custom made    オーダーメードの
• custom(s) house    関税

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) عادة, تقليد, عرف, تعامل طويل مع متجر‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מנהג, הרגל, נוהג, לקוח קבוע, קנייה קבועה, מכס‬
adj. - ‮עשוי לפי הזמנה‬

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Swanstone Custom	custom software
Custom Dominoes	burton custom