quote:

The sense development, as seen in Latin and the modern languages taken together, is thus: orig. Holding, having, ‘havour’; hence the way in which one holds or has oneself, i.e. the mode or condition in which one is, exists, or exhibits oneself, a) externally; hence demeanour, outward appearance, fashion of body, mode of clothing oneself, dress, habitation; b) in mind, character, or life; hence, mental constitution, character, disposition, way of acting, comporting oneself, or dealing with things, habitual or customary way (of acting, etc.), personal custom, accustomedness. This development was largely completed in ancient Latin, and had received some extension in OF., before the word became English; in our language, senses were taken, from time to time, from Fr. or L., without reference to their original order of development; hence the chronological order in Eng. is in no way parallel to the original; and the arrangement below is only partly chronological. In mod.F. the word is narrowed down to our branch I, other senses being supplied by habitude; thus Eng. ‘habit’ is co-extensive with the two French words, and its chief sense corresponds not to F. habit but to F. habitude.