habit

habit

hab·it / ˈhabit/ • n. 1. a settled or regular tendency or practice, esp. one that is hard to give up: this can develop into a bad habit | we stayed together out of habit. ∎  inf. an addictive practice, esp. one of taking drugs: a cocaine habit. ∎  Psychol. an automatic reaction to a specific situation. ∎  general shape or mode of growth, esp. of a plant or a mineral: a shrub of spreading habit. 2. a long, loose garment worn by a member of a religious order or congregation. ∎ short for riding habit. ∎ archaic dress; attire. 3. archaic a person's bodily condition or constitution: a victim to a consumptive habit. • v. [tr.] (usu. be habited) archaic dress; clothe: a boy habited as a serving lad. PHRASES: break (or inf. kick) the habit stop engaging in a habitual practice. ORIGIN: Middle English: from Old French abit, habit, from Latin habitus ‘condition, appearance,’ from habere ‘have, consist of.’ The term originally meant ‘dress, attire,’ later coming to denote physical or mental constitution.

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"habit." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"habit." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-habit.html

"habit." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-habit.html

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habit

habit
A. apparel, dress XIII;

B. mental constitution XIV; settled disposition, custom XVI. ME. (h)abit — OF. abit (later and mod. habit) :- L. habitus, f. habit-, pp. stem of habēre have, hold, refl. be constituted, be. The range of meaning (in modF. distributed between habit dress and habitude custom) was fully developed in L.
So habit vb. A. †dwell (cf. INHABIT) XIV; B. dress XVI. — (O)F. habiter — L. habitāre. habitation XIV. habitat XVIII. — L. ‘dwells’, 3rd pers. sg. pres. ind. of habitāre dwell, inhabit; from its use in floras and faunas to introduce the place of occurrence of a species (e.g. ‘Common Primrose. Habitat in sylvis’). habitual. †pert. to the inward disposition XVI; pert. to habit, customary XVII. — medL. habituālis. So habituate XVI. f. pp. stem of late L. habituāre. habitué habitual visitor. XIX. — F., pp. of habituer, habitude constitution, temperament XIV; disposition, habit XVII.

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T. F. HOAD. "habit." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "habit." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-habit.html

T. F. HOAD. "habit." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-habit.html

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habit

habit The development of an individual crystal, or aggregate of crystals, to produce a particular external shape, with development depending on the conditions obtaining during formation. Individual crystals may possess habits such as acicular (needlelike), tabular (broad and flat), fibrous (hairlike), or prismatic (elongated in one direction). Aggregates of crystals may possess habits such as botryoidal, dendritic, or reniform (kidney-shaped).

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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "habit." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "habit." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-habit.html

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "habit." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-habit.html

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habit

habit (religious dress). The distinctive outward sign of the religious life. A habit is worn by members of the old orders (monks, friars, and nuns); it normally consists of a tunic, belt or girdle, scapular, hood for men and veil for women, and a cloak. In modern times drastic changes have been made in some orders.

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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "habit." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "habit." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-habit.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "habit." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-habit.html

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habit

habit (hab-it) n. a constant, almost automatic, practice acquired by frequent repetition. h. training teaching psychiatric patients to relearn habits of personal hygiene by repetition and encouragement.

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"habit." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"habit." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-habit.html

"habit." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-habit.html

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habit

habit a long, loose garment worn by a member of a religious order; the habit is used to mean the monastic order or profession.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "habit." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "habit." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-habit.html

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habit

habit The typical growth form or occurrence of a plant (i.e. its form or shape).

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "habit." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "habit." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-habit.html

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habit

habitacquit, admit, backlit, bedsit, befit, bit, Brit, Britt, chit, commit, demit, dit, emit, fit, flit, frit, git, grit, hit, intermit, it, kit, knit, legit, lickety-split, lit, manumit, mishit, mitt, nit, omit, outsit, outwit, permit, pit, Pitt, pretermit, quit, remit, retrofit, shit, sit, skit, slit, snit, spit, split, sprit, squit, submit, tit, transmit, twit, whit, wit, writ, zit •albeit, howbeit •poet •bluet, cruet, intuit, suet, Yuit •Inuit • floruit • Jesuit •Babbitt, cohabit, habit, rabbet, rabbit •ambit, gambit •jackrabbit • barbet • Nesbit • rarebit •adhibit, exhibit, gibbet, inhibit, prohibit •titbit (US tidbit) • flibbertigibbet •Cobbett, gobbet, hobbit, obit, probit •orbit • Tobit •cubit, two-bit •hatchet, latchet, ratchet •Pritchett •crotchet, rochet

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"habit." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"habit." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-habit.html

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