Wonted

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈwəʊntɪd/

Definitions

1. having a tendency to follow established customs or traditions
2. Being familiar with or used to certain behaviors or routines through repeated experience
3. Having developed a habit or usual practice that one regularly follows

Etymology: Wonted is the past participle of an adjective-like use of "wont," so it is "accustomed" in the literal sense: a wonted route is one you have travelled so often it has become habit. The noun "wont" goes back to Old English "wuna," meaning custom or practice, and "wone," a related form, shows the same sense. Both trace to a Proto-Germanic root meaning custom or practice, which in turn is linked to an older Indo-European root meaning "to wish" or "to love." That link is a useful reminder that habits were once understood as things a people wanted and chose to keep. The adjective appears in Middle English as "woonted," meaning usual or customary, and it grew out of the noun "wont" through a change in its vowel and ending. English speakers kept both forms in use for centuries, so "wonted" sits comfortably beside "wont" as a kind of living fossil of the older vocabulary of custom.

Synonyms: usual, customary

Antonyms: unusual, rare