habit

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈhæb.ɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English habit, abit, borrowed from Old French abit, habit (“clothing; conduct”),^[2][3][4][5] from Latin habitus (“condition, demeanour, appearance, dress”), originally the past participle of habēre (“to have, hold; to be constituted”),^[2][3][4] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *ghabh- (“to give or receive”).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Dress or clothing, especially that of a religious order: probably before 1200, in the Ancrene Riwle, in Barnhart, before 1225 in the OED;^[2][6] the early 13th century in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Hoad notes that the whole range of meaning, dress and disposition, was already developed in Latin.^[4] Customary practice, a usual way of acting, is from the early 14th century,^[3] and outward form and mental constitution are also 14th-century senses.^[2][4] Clothing in general is from the late 14th century; the sense of dress is now limited to the garments of monks and nuns, and in the 19th century to a woman's riding costume.^[3][6] A settled tendency or custom is chiefly from the 16th century.^[4] The drug habit, an addiction, is from 1887.^[3] The verb meant to dwell (mid-14th century) and to dress (1580s).^[3][4]

Timeline

• before 1200 – religious dress.^[2]
• early 14th century – a customary practice.^[3]
• late 14th century – clothing in general.^[3]
• 1580s – the verb, to dress.^[3]
• 1887 – a drug habit.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A settled tendency or usual way of behaving, especially one hard to give up.
2. An addiction, especially to a drug.
3. The distinctive dress of a monk or nun; also a riding habit.
4. (biology) The characteristic form or mode of growth of a plant or animal.

Verb

1. (archaic) To dress or clothe.

Word family

• habit-forming
• force of habit
• riding habit

Related words

• exhibit
• habitual
• habituate
• habitus
• inhibit
• prohibit
• habitant
• inhabit
• habitat
• habitation
• able

Usage notes

The Century Dictionary, quoted by Etymonline, defines a habit as a custom kept up so steadily that it creates a tendency to continue, and notes that habit and practice apply to individuals, fashion and usage to many people.^[3]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press