喜樂美語

核心畫面

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…更多收起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'

Four branches

反覆做出來的慣性

最貼近核心那條小徑的一群：行為重複到自動化。從一般習慣，到強到身體會渴求的癮，再到深得改不掉的積習。

habit · noun · B1

Something you do so often that you now do it without thinking.

習慣

說話裡談習慣的慣用語

把「習慣」放進固定的說話框架裡，用來提醒、澄清或打趣，重點不在動作本身，而在對「這是不是你的常態」表態。

don't make a habit of it · noun · B1

In the phrase 'don't make a habit of it', you tell someone not to keep doing something they should not do.

別養成…的習慣（別再這樣）

心裡的慣性（想法·心態）

同一條踩出來的溝，只是踩在腦子裡：想事情、看事情的慣性方式。

way of thinking (mental habit) · noun · B1

The way someone usually thinks about things, or their usual attitudes — as in 'a habit of mind'.

思維習慣／心態

修士修女的道袍

這一支不是從「習慣」比喻出來的，而是 habitus 的另一條歷史支線：本指「外在的樣子、穿著」，後來專指修會的制服。

religious robe · noun · B1

A long loose piece of clothing worn by members of a religious group.

（修士修女的）道袍

原始詞典資料9 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，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.

這個拼法也被記錄為下列字的變化形：

資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。