habitus

/ˈhæ.bɪ.təs/

//ˈhæ.bɪ.təs// noun

"habitus" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“habitus” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Habitude; mode of life; bearing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-habitus · habitus · English

habitus · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "H" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for habitus
PropertyValue
Headwordhabitus
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈhæ.bɪ.təs/
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “habitus” in English

habitussits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

habitus is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈhæ.bɪ.təs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for habitus in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin habitus (“habit”), from habeō (“have; maintain”). The plural habiti is a misconstruction, as the Latin plural is in fact habitūs. habiti may have been influenced by Latin habitī, the plural of the participle habitus; however, it is not the etymon… The correct English form is habitus, spelled H-A-B-I-T-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Habitude; mode of life; bearing.
  2. 2
    General appearance.
  3. 3
    habit
  4. 4
    the general shape and appearance of the body, usually with reference to weight, adipose distribution, posture, and gait; most often called by the collocation body habitus.
  5. 5
    The lifestyle, values, dispositions and expectations of particular social groups that are acquired through the activities and experiences of everyday life.
  6. 6
    The liturgical clothing of monks, nuns and the clerical community, metaphorically referring to the religious mode of life.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how habitus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. [M]any species having eschariform zoaria in quiet water are able to assume the membraniporiform habitus in strongly agitated water.
  2. A wrestler could gain the rank of ōzeki based on his competitive achievements, but the promotion to yokozuna implied the presence of a certain habitus than embodied the quintessential traditional Japaneseness.

Etymology

From Latin habitus (“habit”), from habeō (“have; maintain”). The plural habiti is a misconstruction, as the Latin plural is in fact habitūs. habiti may have been influenced by Latin habitī, the plural of the participle habitus; however, it is not the etymon of the English term.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "habitus"?
"habitus" is spelled H-A-B-I-T-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈhæ.bɪ.təs/.
What does "habitus" mean?
As a noun, "habitus" means: Habitude; mode of life; bearing.
How do you pronounce "habitus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "habitus" is /ˈhæ.bɪ.təs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "habitus"?
From Latin habitus (“habit”), from habeō (“have; maintain”). The plural habiti is a misconstruction, as the Latin plural is in fact habitūs. habiti may have been influenced by Latin habitī, the plural of the participle habitus; however, it is not ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list