Result from Foreign Dictionaries (4 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Habit \Hab"it\ (h[a^]b"[i^]t) n. [OE. habit, abit, F. habit, fr. L. habitus state, appearance, dress, fr. habere to have, be in a condition; prob. akin to E. have. See {Have}, and cf. {Able}, {Binnacle}, {Debt}, {Due}, {Exhibit}, {Malady.}] 1. The usual condition or state of a person or thing, either natural or acquired, regarded as something had, possessed, and firmly retained; as, a religious habit; his habit is morose; elms have a spreading habit; esp., physical temperament or constitution; as, a full habit of body. [1913 Webster] 2. (Biol.) The general appearance and manner of life of a living organism. Specifically, the tendency of a plant or animal to grow in a certain way; as, the deciduous habit of certain trees. [1913 Webster +PJC] 3. Fixed or established custom; ordinary course of conduct; practice; usage; hence, prominently, the involuntary tendency or aptitude to perform certain actions which is acquired by their frequent repetition; as, habit is second nature; also, peculiar ways of acting; characteristic forms of behavior. [1913 Webster] A man of very shy, retired habits. --W. Irving. [1913 Webster] 4. Outward appearance; attire; dress; hence, a garment; esp., a closely fitting garment or dress worn by ladies; as, a riding habit. [1913 Webster] Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy. --Shak. [1913 Webster] There are, among the statues, several of Venus, in different habits. --Addison. 5. Hence: The distinctive clothing worn commonly by nuns or monks; as, in the late 1900's many orders of nuns discarded their habits and began to dress as ordinary lay women. [PJC] Syn: Practice; mode; manner; way; custom; fashion. Usage: {Habit}, {Custom}. Habit is a disposition or tendency leading us to do easily, naturally, and with growing certainty, what we do often; custom is external, being habitual use or the frequent repetition of the same act. The two operate reciprocally on each other. The custom of giving produces a habit of liberality; habits of devotion promote the custom of going to church. Custom also supposes an act of the will, selecting given modes of procedure; habit is a law of our being, a kind of "second nature" which grows up within us. [1913 Webster] How use doth breed a habit in a man! --Shak. [1913 Webster] He who reigns . . . upheld by old repute, Consent, or custom --Milton. [1913 Webster] From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Habit \Hab"it\ (h[a^]b"[i^]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Habited}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Habiting}.] [OE. habiten to dwell, F. habiter, fr. L. habitare to have frequently, to dwell, intens. fr. habere to have. See {Habit}, n.] 1. To inhabit. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] In thilke places as they [birds] habiten. --Rom. of R. [1913 Webster] 2. To dress; to clothe; to array. [1913 Webster] They habited themselves like those rural deities. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 3. To accustom; to habituate. [Obs.] --Chapman. [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: habit n 1: an established custom; "it was their habit to dine at 7 every evening" [syn: {habit}, {wont}] 2: (psychology) an automatic pattern of behavior in reaction to a specific situation; may be inherited or acquired through frequent repetition; "owls have nocturnal habits"; "she had a habit twirling the ends of her hair"; "long use had hardened him to it" [syn: {habit}, {use}] 3: a distinctive attire worn by a member of a religious order 4: the general form or mode of growth (especially of a plant or crystal); "a shrub of spreading habit" 5: attire that is typically worn by a horseback rider (especially a woman's attire) [syn: {habit}, {riding habit}] 6: excessive use of drugs [syn: {substance abuse}, {drug abuse}, {habit}] v 1: put a habit on From French-English FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.3.4 [fd-fra-eng]: habit /abi/ dress-coat; evening dress; tails; article of dress; garment