habitude

English

Etymology

From Middle English habitude, from Middle French habitude, from Latin habitūdō (“condition, plight, habit, appearance”), from habeō (“I have, hold, keep”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhæbɪˌtjuːd/

• Rhymes: -uːd

Noun

habitude (countable and uncountable, plural habitudes)

1. (archaic) The essential character of one's being or existence; native or normal constitution; mental or moral constitution; bodily condition; native temperament.
   • 1609, William Shakespeare, “A Louers Complaint”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC:

     His real habitude gave life and grace / To appertainings and to ornament.

2. (archaic) Habitual disposition; normal or characteristic mode of behaviour, whether from habit or from nature
   • 1614, John Selden, “The Preface”, in Titles of Honor, London: […] William Stansby for Iohn Helme, […], →OCLC, signature [b4], recto:

     [I]ts thought, that, in the Seed are alvvaies potentially ſeuerall indiuiduating Qualities deriu'd from diuers of the neere Anceſtors, vvhich by the formatiue povver of the Parents may be expreſt in the Children, vvith reſpectiue habitude to either Sex; […]

   • 1683, John Dryden, Life of Plutarch (21)

     An habitude of commanding his passions in order to his health.

   • 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC:

     [T]here was something of the habitude of the wild animal in the unreflecting instinct with which she rambled on — disconnecting herself by littles from her eventful past at every step, obliterating her identity […]

   • 1895, S. R. Crockett, A Cry Across the Black Water:

     With the instinct of old habitude they fell to the oars, Barbara rowing the better and the stronger.

3. (obsolete) Behaviour or manner of existence in relation to something else; relation; respect.
   • 1732, George Berkeley, “The Fourth Dialogue”, in Alciphron: Or, The Minute Philosopher. […], volume I, London: […] J[acob] Tonson […], →OCLC, section XXI, page 256:

     And although Proportion ſtrictly ſignifies the Habitude or Relation of one Quantity to another, yet, in a looſer and tranſlated Senſe, it hath been applied to ſignify every other Habitude; and conſequently the Term Analogy comes to ſignify all Similitude or Relations, or Habitudes vvhatſoever.

4. (obsolete) In full habitude: fully, wholly, entirely; in all respects.
   • a. 1662 (date written), Thomas Fuller, The History of the Worthies of England, London: […] J[ohn] G[rismond,] W[illiam] L[eybourne] and W[illiam] G[odbid], published 1662, →OCLC, page 165:

     Although I believe not the report in full habitude.

5. (obsolete) habitual association; familiar relation; acquaintance; familiarity; intimacy; association; intercourse.
   • 1640–1706, John Evelyn, “(please specify the date of the diary entry)”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:

     The discourse of some with whom I have had some habitudes since my coming home.

6. (obsolete) an associate; an acquaintance; someone with whom one is familiar.
   • 1676, George Etherege, The Man of Mode (4.1)

     La Corneus and Sallyes were the only habitudes we had.

7. Habit; custom; usage.
   • 1599, James I of England, Basilikon Doron (28)

     Which […] by long habitude, are thought rather vertue than vice among them.

8. (obsolete, chemistry, in the plural) The various ways in which one substance reacts with another; chemical reaction.
   • 1818, Michael Faraday, Experimental Researches in Chemistry and Physics (32)

     Most authors who have had occasion to describe naphthaline, have noticed its habitudes with sulphuric acid.

Derived terms

• habitudinal

Translations

habit, custom, usage

• Bulgarian: навик (bg) m (navik), привичка (bg) f (privička)
• Finnish: tapa (fi)

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “habitude”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

French

Etymology

From Latin habitūdō.

Pronunciation

• ^{(mute h)} IPA^(key): /a.bi.tyd/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

habitude f (plural habitudes)

1. habit (action done on a regular basis)

Derived terms

• avoir habitude
• d’habitude
• par habitude

Further reading

• “habitude”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Interlingua

Noun

habitude (plural habitudes)

1. habit (action done on a regular basis)

Middle French

Etymology

First known attestation 1365, borrowed from Latin habitūdō. The meaning 'habit' seems to have developed under the influence of habituer (“to habituate” reflexively “to become habituated”).

Noun

habitude f (plural habitudes)

1. relationship
2. habit (action done on a regular basis)