E. F. BensonRichard M. Weaver
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The Origin and Etymology of Habit
The word habit most often refers to a usual way of behaving or a tendency that someone has settled into, as in "good eating habits."
In its oldest sense, however, habit meant "clothing" and had nothing to do with the things a person does in a regular and repeated way. Today, this meaning is preserved only in phrases like "nun's habit," "monk's habit," and "riding habit" (clothes worn for horseback riding).
Like so many words that appeared in English in the centuries following the Norman Conquest, habit came from French. Indeed, the modern French word for clothes is habits (pronounced \ah-bee\). In English, habit progressed from meaning “clothing” to “clothing for a particular profession or purpose” to “bearing, conduct, behavior." (The word’s evolution brings to mind the old adage “the clothes make the man," which asserts that the way we dress reflects our character.)
From “what one wears” to “how one conducts oneself,” habit continued to evolve, referring to appearance (“a man of fleshy habit”) and mental makeup (“a philosophical habit”) before, after several centuries in English, it came to mean repeated activity: “a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition.”
The specific development of habit to refer to drug addiction began in the 19th century, with reference to opium.
Interestingly, even though “clothing” is the oldest meaning of habit in English, it wasn’t the original meaning of the word's ultimate Latin root, habitus. In Latin, that word’s original meaning was “state of being” or “condition.”
Our most common use of habit today, “acquired mode of behavior,” didn’t exist in Latin—habitus went from meaning “condition” to “how one conducts oneself” to “clothing.” That it was adapted into English in precisely the reverse order is an accident of history; the order of meanings absorbed from one language to another rarely constitutes a logical development. As with all language, meaning is established by usage and force of habit.
Synonyms
Noun
Verb
Examples of habit in a Sentence
Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
In 1948, only 3% of American homes had television sets; by the time of the Stevenson-Eisenhower rematch, 80% were equipped with TV, an instrument that was permanently altering the nation’s entertainment preferences and habits of acquiring information.
—TIME, 4 Apr. 2024
Consumer buying habits and studies show that people are more comfortable transitioning from ICE to hybrid before going all-electric.
—Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2024
Alphas are relatively new to social media and streaming platforms—and the athletes and influencers that populate them—but, despite their youth, Morning Consult found Alphas are already developing habits that marketers may want to note.
—Alyssa Meyers, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024
Of course, not everyone is supportive of the doll habit, particularly on social media.
—David Oliver, USA TODAY, 2 Apr. 2024
Even if the infrastructure were in place, people’s habits aren’t.
—Kim Severson, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
After officially taking the Netflix job, Lin is said to have spent time pouring over reams of viewership data: minutes watched, audience habits, likes and dislikes.
—Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Apr. 2024
Economists and public health experts noted that eating habits are hard to break and food deserts offer few options that allow consumers to switch things up.
—Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'habit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Habit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/habit. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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habit
noun
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