*abit*

n. (Eccl. Hist.) A member of a religious order, named from St. Barnabas. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Cohabited; p. pr. & vb. n. Cohabiting. ] [ L. cohabitare; co- + habitare to dwell, to have possession of (a place), freg. of habere to have. See Habit, n. & v. ] 1. To inhabit or reside in company, or in the same place or country. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Philistines were worsted by the captived ark . . . : they were not able to cohabit with that holy thing. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To dwell or live together as husband and wife. [ 1913 Webster ]

The law presumes that husband and wife cohabit together, even after a voluntary separation has taken place between them. Bouvier. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ By the common law as existing in the United States, marriage is presumed when a man and woman cohabit permanently together, being reputed by those who know them to be husband and wife, and admitting the relationship. Wharton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. cohabitans, p. pr. ] One who dwells with another, or in the same place or country. [ 1913 Webster ]

No small number of the Danes became peaceable cohabitants with the Saxons in England. Sir W. Raleigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. cohabitatio. ] 1. The act or state of dwelling together, or in the same place with another. Feltham. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) The living together of a man and woman in supposed sexual relationship. [ 1913 Webster ]

That the duty of cohabitation is released by the cruelty of one of the parties is admitted. Lord Stowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A cohabitant. Hobbes. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who dwells with another, or with others. “Coinhabitants of the same element.” Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Pref. dis- + habit to inhabit. ] To dislodge. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Those sleeping stones . . . from their fixed beds of lime
Had been dishabited. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

p. a. Rendered uninhabited. “Dishabited towns.” R. Carew. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To render unaccustomed. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Uninhabited. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

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 ]

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 ]

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 ]

n. [ L., it dwells, fr. habitare. See Habit, v. t. ] 1. (Biol.) The natural abode, locality or region of an animal or plant. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Place where anything is commonly found. [ 1913 Webster ]

This word has its habitat in Oxfordshire. Earle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. habitation, L. habitatio. ] 1. The act of inhabiting; state of inhabiting or dwelling, or of being inhabited; occupancy. Denham. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Place of abode; settled dwelling; residence; house. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Lord . . . blesseth the habitation of the just. Prov. iii. 33. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. ] A dweller; an inhabitant. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

p. p. & a. 1. Clothed; arrayed; dressed; as, he was habited like a shepherd. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Fixed by habit; accustomed. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

So habited he was in sobriety. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Inhabited. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Another world, which is habited by the ghosts of men and women. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. habituel, LL. habitualis. See Habit, n. ] 1. Formed or acquired by habit or use. [ 1913 Webster ]

An habitual knowledge of certain rules and maxims. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. According to habit; established by habit; customary; constant; as, the habitual practice of sin. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is the distinguishing mark of habitual piety to be grateful for the most common and ordinary blessings. Buckminster.

Syn. -- Customary; accustomed; usual; common; wonted; ordinary; regular; familiar.

-- Ha*bit"u*al*ly, adv. -- Ha*bit"u*al*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Habituated p. pr. & vb. n. Habituating ] [ L. habituatus, p. p. of habituare to bring into a condition or habit of body: cf. F. habituer. See Habit. ] 1. To make accustomed; to accustom; to familiarize. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our English dogs, who were habituated to a colder clime. Sir K. Digby. [ 1913 Webster ]

Men are first corrupted . . . and next they habituate themselves to their vicious practices. Tillotson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To settle as an inhabitant. [ Obs. ] Sir W. Temple. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Firmly established by custom; formed by habit; habitual. [ R. ] Hammond. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. habituation. ] The act of habituating, or accustoming; the state of being habituated. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. L. habitudo condition. See Habit. ] 1. Habitual attitude; usual or accustomed state with reference to something else; established or usual relations. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

The same ideas having immutably the same habitudes one to another. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

The verdict of the judges was biased by nothing else than their habitudes of thinking. Landor. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Habitual association, intercourse, or familiarity. [ 1913 Webster ]

To write well, one must have frequent habitudes with the best company. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Habit of body or of action. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is impossible to gain an exact habitude without an infinite number of acts and perpetual practice. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ F., p. p. of habituer. See Habituate. ] One who habitually frequents a place; as, an habitué of a theater. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Habitude. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L. ] (Zool.) Habitude; mode of life; general appearance. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Inhabited; p. pr. & vb. n. Inhabiting. ] [ OE. enhabiten, OF. enhabiter, L. inhabitare; pref. in- in + habitare to dwell. See Habit. ] To live or dwell in; to occupy, as a place of settled residence; as, wild beasts inhabit the forest; men inhabit cities and houses. [ 1913 Webster ]

The high and lofty One, that inhabiteth eternity. Is. lvii. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

O, who would inhabit
This bleak world alone? Moore. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To have residence in a place; to dwell; to live; to abide. [ Archaic or Poetic ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

They say wild beasts inhabit here. Waller. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. inhabitabilis. See Inhabit. ] Capable of being inhabited; habitable. [ 1913 Webster ]

Systems of inhabitable planets. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. inhabitabilis: cf. F. inhabitable. See In- not, and Habitable. ] Not habitable; not suitable to be inhabited. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The frozen ridges of the Alps
Or other ground inhabitable. Shak.

{ } n. 1. The act of inhabiting, or the state of being inhabited; the condition of an inhabitant; residence; occupancy. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ruins yet resting in the wild moors testify a former inhabitance. Carew. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) The state of having legal right to claim the privileges of a recognized inhabitant; especially, the right to support in case of poverty, acquired by residence in a town; habitancy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. inhabitans, -antis, p. pr. of inhabitare. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. One who dwells or resides permanently in a place, as distinguished from a transient lodger or visitor; as, an inhabitant of a house, a town, a city, county, or state. “Frail inhabitants of earth.” Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

In this place, they report that they saw inhabitants which were very fair and fat people. Abp. Abbot. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) One who has a legal settlement in a town, city, or parish; a permanent resident. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To inhabit. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. inhabitatio a dwelling. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. The act of inhabiting, or the state of being inhabited; indwelling. [ 1913 Webster ]

The inhabitation of the Holy Ghost. Bp. Pearson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Abode; place of dwelling; residence. [ Obs. ] Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Population; inhabitants. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

The beginning of nations and of the world's inhabitation. Sir W. Raleigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Phrenol.) A tendency or propensity to permanent residence in a place or abode; love of home and country. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Uninhabited. [ Obs. ] Brathwait. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An inhabitant. [ R. ] Derham. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Phrenol.) See Inhabitativeness. [ 1913 Webster ]

What the phrenologists call inhabitiveness. Lowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A female inhabitant. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. Connecticut; -- a nickname alluding to the moral character of its inhabitants, implied by the rigid laws (see Blue laws) of the early period. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. One of the posterity of Moab, the son of Lot. (Gen. xix. 37.) Also used adjectively. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A female Moabite. Ruth i. 22. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Archaeol.) A block of black basalt, found at Dibon in Moab by Rev. F. A. Klein, Aug. 19, 1868, which bears an inscription of thirty-four lines, dating from the 9th century b. c., and written in the Moabite alphabet, the oldest Phoenician type of the Semitic alphabet. It records the victories of Mesha, king of Moab, esp. those over Israel (2 Kings iii. 4, 5, 27). [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]