rubric

1 a word or series of words often in larger letters placed at the beginning of a passage or at the top of a page in order to introduce or categorize <the rubrics at the beginning of the chapters are intended to be humorous> Synonyms caption, head, header, headline, heading, titleRelated Words banner, streamer; catch word, guide word, running head; greeting, salutation; superscript, superscription; subhead, subheading, subtitle

2 an inherited or established way of thinking, feeling, or doing <the rubric, popular among jewelers anyway, that a man should spend a month's salary on his fiancée's engagement ring> Synonyms convention, custom, heritage, prescription, tradition, ruleRelated Words ethic, form, mode, mores, norm, principles, standards, values; birthright, inheritance, legacy; folklore, lore, superstition; culture, lifestyle

3 one of the units into which a whole is divided on the basis of a common characteristic <all of these books with their conspiracy theories fall under the rubric of speculative fiction> Synonyms bracket, category, classification, division, family, genus, grade, group, kind, league, order, rank(s), class, set, species, tier, typeRelated Words description, feather, ilk, kidney, like, manner, nature, sort; branch, section, speciality, specialty, subclass, subdivision, subgroup, subspecies, variety; breed, race; generation; heading, label, title