Habituacioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The gradual process of growing familiar with something through repeated exposure ; a fixed practice or routine that a person or community has long followed
2. Becoming used to a stimulus or situation over time ; an established custom or manner of behaving that has taken firm hold
3. The adjustment that comes from frequent contact with something until it no longer provokes a reaction ; a long-standing pattern of conduct or practice

Etymology: This is an older spelling of "habituation," the noun for becoming accustomed to something. The spelling, with its "-cioun" ending, marks it as Middle English, when English writers adapted it from Latin "habituationem," a noun from the verb "habituare," "to make accustomed to." That verb comes from "habitus," meaning a condition or way of being, which in turn comes from "habere," "to have or hold." The same Latin root gave English "habit" in both its senses: a routine you have or hold, and a garment, since a person's "habit" was their dress and bearing. Medieval English used the noun in a sense closer to a settled state or disposition than to a repeated action, so the word's meaning narrowed over time toward the process of getting used to something. The exact date of the earliest Middle English record is uncertain to me, so I'll not give one.