Think of a worn into grass: do the same thing enough times and it wears a groove, so next time your feet turn that way on their own, without thinking. A habit is that worn-in path in behaviour.

可以想成草地上被踩出來的一條小徑:同一件事做得夠多次,就踩出一條溝,下次腳自然往那邊走,不用想。habit 的核心畫面比較像這條「踩久了就自動走」的路。

From the word’s history

From Latin habitus, the past participle of habere 'to have, hold', used to mean 'how one holds oneself — one's condition or state'. That split two ways: the inner condition (your usual way of behaving) and the outer one (what you wear) — which is why habit means both 'custom' and 'a nun's robe'.

來自拉丁文 habitus,是動詞 habere「持有、拿著」的過去分詞,本指「一個人把自己拿成什麼樣子——也就是狀態、樣態」。這個意思分成兩路:對內是「慣常的行為方式」,對外是「身上穿的樣子」——所以 habit 同時有「習慣」和「修士道袍」兩個意思。

etymonline.com/word/habit; OUP Blog (blog.oup.com/2011/04/habit) — Latin habitus < habere 'to have, hold'

登入就可以看每一支怎麼連回核心畫面。

原始詞典資料9 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,摘錄並精簡格式,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

habitnoun詞源 1/ˈhæb.ɪt/

  • 1

    An action performed on a regular basis.

    • It’s become a habit of mine to have a cup of coffee after dinner.
    • I really need to get into the habit of writing down what I spend.
  • 2

    An action performed repeatedly and automatically, usually without awareness.

    • By force of habit, he dressed for work even though it was holiday.
  • 3

    An addiction.

    • kick the habit
    • He has a 10-cigar habit.

habitverb詞源 2/ˈhæb.ɪt/

  • 1

    To clothe.

    • Ritson, who was a native of the bishoprick of Durham, tells us that the fairies frequented many parts of it; that they were described as being of the smallest size, and uniformly habited in green.
    • Here I began my shopping, was interviewed by dressmakers, and naturally had much to do to habit myself for civilized life again.
  • 2

    archaicTo inhabit.

habitnoun詞源 2/ˈhæb.ɪt/

  • 1

    A long piece of clothing worn by monks and nuns.

    • It’s interesting how Catholic and Buddhist monks both wear habits.
  • 2

    A piece of clothing worn for a specific activity; a uniform.

    • The new riding habits of the team looked smashing!
    • Sidesaddle riding habits were prestigious tailored sportswear appropriate for the equestrian pursuits of the truly wealthy.
  • 3

    archaicOutward appearance; attire; dress.

    • Noble and milde this Perſean ſeemes to be, If outward habit Iudge the inward man.
    • Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy.

摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary,已精簡格式;依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用,改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。