habit

pos>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. -- 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 ]

n. Habitableness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. habitable, L. habitabilis. ] Capable of being inhabited; that may be inhabited or dwelt in; as, the habitable world. -- Hab"it*a*ble*ness, n. -- Hab"it*a*bly, adv. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. habitacle dwelling place, binnacle, L. habitaculum dwelling place. See Binnacle, Habit, v. ] A dwelling place. Chaucer. Southey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Habitant, 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

General Arnold met an emissary . . . sent . . . to ascertain the feelings of the habitans or French yeomanry. W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. habitance, LL. habitantia. ] Dwelling; abode; residence. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Inhabitancy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. habitant. See Habit, v. t. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. An inhabitant; a dweller. Milton. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. [ F. pron. An inhabitant or resident; -- a name applied to and denoting farmers of French descent or origin in Canada, especially in the Province of Quebec; -- usually in the plural. [ 1913 Webster ]

The habitants or cultivators of the soil. Parkman. [ 1913 Webster ]