Traditional means done the way it has been done for generations. A traditional recipe, traditional music, traditional methods.
It is a claim about continuity and is very often wrong: a great many traditions turn out to be about a century old, and the phrase invented tradition is a whole field of historical study. Traditional is also used to mean conservative in outlook: traditional values. Note tradition; traditionally, which is common as a sentence adverb; and that in advertising traditional means old-fashioned in a way you are meant to like.
1adjectivetraditionalDone the way it has been done for generations.
“We cooked a traditional Christmas dinner with turkey, roast potatoes and sprouts.”
2adjectiveconservativeConservative in outlook.
“Her parents are quite traditional and expect her to marry before she moves in with anyone.”
traditional is a quality of continuity.
Proto-Indo-European
*deh₃-
Middle English
tradicioun
English
tradition
English, today
traditional
From tradition + -al. tradition comes from Middle English tradicioun. From Middle English tradicioun, from Old French tradicion, from Latin trāditiō, from the verb trādō. a doublet of treason.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA