Sitte

From Middle High German site, from Old High German situ, from Proto-West Germanic *sidu, from Proto-Germanic *siduz.

• IPA^(key): /ˈzɪtə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪtɛ/ (Austria)

Sitte f (genitive Sitte, plural Sitten)

1. custom, tradition, common practice, rite

   Synonyms: Brauch, Gebrauch, Gewohnheit, Tradition

2. (especially) a normative standard of society; polite and (morally) accepted behaviour; mores, decency
3. (law enforcement, informal) Short for Sittendezernat, Sittenpolizei (“vice, vice department”).

• “Sitte” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Sitte” in Duden online
• “Sitte” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.