Habitual

How to spell habitual

8 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce habitual

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does habitual mean?

1. adjectiveDone regularly or repeatedly, so as to be a settled practice.

Habitual in a sentence

• His habitual lateness eventually cost him the promotion.

• She made a habitual check of the locks before leaving the house each night.

Where does habitual come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin habitualis, meaning 'pertaining to one's condition or character', which was built on habitus, the noun for 'state', 'appearance', or 'demeanour'. That noun came in turn from habere, the Latin verb 'to have' or 'to hold', so the original idea was something a person habitually holds or carries about themselves. English picked the word up in the late Middle Ages through scholarly and medieval Latin, where it described a settled disposition rather than a single act. The familiar noun 'habit', the verb 'inhabit', and even 'habitat' all share that same habere root, which is why the spelling keeps the steady 'habit' core before the ending. The trap for writers is purely the tail: it is spelled -ual, not -uel or -ural, so picturing the plain word 'habit' first is the safest guide.

How the word is built

• habit (from Latin habitus: condition, demeanour)
• -ual (adjective suffix forming 'relating to')