D defs.my
Entry 1 sense Webster, 1913

Rite

/rīt/ · IPA /ɹaɪt/
01 n. 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…
  1. 1.
    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.
    “He looked with indifference on rites, names, and forms of ecclesiastical polity.” Macaulay.