Etymologically
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habit

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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
  • 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