Reality check: to habitate
Steven P. Venti
very astute observation that we all speak "idiolects." There are times,
however, I feel that mine is more idiotic than idiomatic, which is
perhaps why so many of the threads I start on this list have to do with
making sure my own English is intelligible.
I have for years used the verb "to habitate" in the sense of wildlife
living in a given environment: Owls habitate wooded areas.
Today I find that not only does Dragon NaturallySpeaking not recognize
this word, neither is it in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary.
Thankfully, I find that it is in the Oxford English dictionary, so I
have proof that I am not crazy, but apparently it is far less common
than I once believed. I would be very interested to know, therefore, if
there is anyone else out there willing to admit <g> that they use this
word on a regular basis when talking about wildlife dwelling in a
specific habitat.
TIA
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Steven P. Venti
Mail: spv...@bhk-limited.com
URL: http://www.bhk-limited.com
Blog: http://spventi.wordpress.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Derek Lin
Derek
2008/12/21 Steven P. Venti <spv...@bhk-limited.com>:
Joji Matsuo
I've never heard of habitate and would usually say inhabit.
Example: "The smallmouth bass inhabits large rivers, small streams, lakes
and reservoirs."
This pond is inhabited by largemouth bass.
Joji@blackbass fishing rocks! (and bait reelers rule!)
William Taylor
below?
"Cougars inhabit areas from sea level to 19000 feet (5800 m) in the
South American Andes."
"The habitat that cougars live in can range from mountains to
deserts."
That has been my understanding, but I'm not really a wildlife expert.
Regards,
William Taylor
sls
>I would be very interested to know, therefore, if
> there is anyone else out there willing to admit <g> that they use this
> word on a regular basis when talking about wildlife dwelling in a
> specific habitat.
Hi Steven,
although i don't recall ever having heard or seen (thus, used) the word
"habitate" myself (mainly Western Canadian dialect on a BE foundation) i
think it is an appropriately specific term and understand it without
hesitation in the given context.
FWIW...
Regards: Hendrik
.
--
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Derek Lin
to mean "make a habitat out of".
"Owls inhabit these forests."
"Last year, these forests were habitated by a murder of crows."
I don't assert that this is the norm, though.
Derek
2008/12/21 William Taylor <william...@gmail.com>:
Nora Stevens Heath
> I would be very interested to know, therefore, if there is anyone else
> out there willing to admit <g> that they use this word on a regular
> basis when talking about wildlife dwelling in a specific habitat.
I don't; I find the word a little odd, but then again "cohabitating" is
a kosher (although perhaps slightly tongue-in-cheek) term to describe
humans living together. Maybe your "habitate" is a hybrid of "habitat"
and "cohabitate".
Nora
--
Nora Stevens Heath <no...@fumizuki.com>
J-E translations: http://www.fumizuki.com/
Doreen Simmons
it would be coined and would eventually become accepted because it adds to the original word 'inhabit'.
I certainly wouldn't use it myself, and if editing a passage that contained it, I would make some effort to rewrite that part.
In the case of Norah's 'cohabitating' -- no way! This adds nothing to the existing correct 'cohabit, cohabiting'.
It is an unnecessary coinage along the lines of the incorrect *'preventative' for 'preventive'.
FWIW
Doreen
Steve Venti said:
>
>I have for years used the verb "to habitate" in the sense of wildlife
>living in a given environment: Owls habitate wooded areas.
Doreen Simmons
jz8d...@asahi-net.or.jp
David Farnsworth
David Farnsworth @ (who comes from a land where "nucular" is perfectly
acceptable English even at the highest levels of government... heh)
Tigard OR 97224
/
Derek Lin
>
> And what, pray tell, is wrong with "preventative"?
>
> David Farnsworth @ (who comes from a land where "nucular" is perfectly
> acceptable English even at the highest levels of government... heh)
> Tigard OR 97224
You mean, "a land where 'nucular' is perfectly acceptable English
*only* at the highest levels of government"....
Derek @ thank god that is about to change (we hope)
Marc Adler
> And what, pray tell, is wrong with "preventative"?
I think the prescriptive line basically says that you don't say
prescriptative, palliatative, addictative, descriptative, etc., so you
shouldn't say "preventative."
--
Marc Adler
www.adlerpacific.com
Hanae
> I'd say 'habitate' started as a non-standard word, but in the specialist usage that Steve is giving it,
> it would be coined and would eventually become accepted because it adds to the original word 'inhabit'.
Harrumph. Even for the edification of Honyaku, I do not care to thoughtate, cogitertate, or otherwise interrupterraritate my peace of mind remembrancing people who swipe one's money and withold degrees on the basis of regulations that their own enrolment staff didn't bother to read!
Helen H
Jim Lockhart
> > And what, pray tell, is wrong with "preventative"?
>
> I think the prescriptive line basically says that you don't say
> prescriptative, palliatative, addictative, descriptative, etc., so you
> shouldn't say "preventative."
Indeed. Nonetheless, it's made its way into Merriam-Webster's Unabridged
and Collegiate without a note that it's a variant, so I guess it has
some currency, at least in AmE. The American Heritage 4th ed. says it's
a variant of _preventive_.
But come to think of it, I think I (US Northeast, Philadelphia area) say
_preventative_, too.
But _habitate_ sounds to me like somebody can't make up his mind whether
to say _inhabit_ or _makes [geonym] its habitat_. Maybe it's just a
Bahst'n thing, though.
--Jim Lockhart @ Well whaddayanoh!
Hachioji, Tokyo, JPN
David Farnsworth
That's what I love about language. Use something long enough, and it ceases
being incorrect and becomes a variant...
Who knows, maybe this will happen to "nucular" as well. (Pres. Bush is in
good company, after all. My brother-in-law for one... bless his Utah-rooted
soul)
David Farnsworth
Tigard OR 97224
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Lockhart" <jamesal...@gmail.com>
To: <hon...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, December 21, 2008 11:13 PM
Subject: Re: Reality check: to habitate
>
>
William Sakovich
good company, after all. My brother-in-law for one... bless his Utah-rooted
Jimmy Carter for another, and not only was he a President and Nobel Prize
winner, he also served on nuclear submarines in the Navy under Hyman
Rickover.
- BS
canuck....@gmail.com
> The American Heritage 4th ed. says it's a variant of _preventive_.
I grew up on the west coast of Canada hearing the phrase "preventative
medicine", but Googling turns up about 400,000 hits for that, and over 4
million for "preventive medicine".
And, I can't say I have heard "habitate" at all. As others have
indicated, "inhabit" was the usage I grew up with.
This all reminds me of friend who swore a certain politician was a great
"oratator"...
- Dan Burgess, in Yokohama
Jeroen Ruigrok van der Werven
>Indeed. Nonetheless, it's made its way into Merriam-Webster's Unabridged
>and Collegiate without a note that it's a variant, so I guess it has
>some currency, at least in AmE. The American Heritage 4th ed. says it's
>a variant of _preventive_.
The 1913 Webster has this though:
Preventative \Pre*vent"a*tive\, n.
That which prevents; -- incorrectly used instead of
preventive.
--
Jeroen Ruigrok van der Werven <asmodai(-at-)in-nomine.org> / asmodai
イェルーン ラウフロック ヴァン デル ウェルヴェン
http://www.in-nomine.org/ | http://www.rangaku.org/ | GPG: 2EAC625B
Be wiser than other people if you can; but do not tell them so...
Alan Siegrist
> I have for years used the verb "to habitate" in the sense of wildlife
> living in a given environment: Owls habitate wooded areas.
I think it is most common to say "Owls inhabit wooded areas." The place that
a certain type of wildlife inhabits is called its habitat.
It is certainly a bit odd that in English we say that they inhabit (not
habitate) a habitat, but that is the way it works for some reason.
I wish I knew why.
Regards,
Alan Siegrist
Orinda, CA, USA
Mark Spahn
John Brannan
As a lifelong birdwatcher, who grew up in England and has subsequently lived in NZ, Japan and now Australia, I have never come across "habitate" as a verb. "Inhabit" yes, "habitate" no.
John Brannan (where'd I put my red pen?...)
-- 36 Challinor Cres., Florey, Canberra ACT 2615, Australia Ph.: (+612) 6258 6038 Fax: (+612) 6258 6238
Nora Stevens Heath
I take that back; the term highlighted here is indeed "cohabitation",
with "cohabit" used throughout. I have indeed often heard "cohabitate"
and "cohabitating", but it may have been more tongue-in-cheek or
humorously PC. (It shows up in the Urban Dictionary.)
Nora Stevens Heath
> In the case of Norah's 'cohabitating' -- no way! This adds nothing to
> the existing correct 'cohabit, cohabiting'. It is an unnecessary
> coinage along the lines of the incorrect *'preventative' for
> 'preventive'.
It's also the word that's actually in use (unlike "preventative", which
is more an in-duh-vidual mispronunciation along the lines of "nucular"):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohabitation
Marc Adler
> It's also the word that's actually in use (unlike "preventative", which
> is more an in-duh-vidual mispronunciation along the lines of "nucular"):
No it isn't. It might've started out as a "mistake," but it's
definitely an accepted variant today.
--
Marc Adler
www.adlerpacific.com
JimBreen
>
> > It's also the word that's actually in use (unlike "preventative", which
> > is more an in-duh-vidual mispronunciation along the lines of "nucular"):
>
> No it isn't. It might've started out as a "mistake," but it's
> definitely an accepted variant today.
Purity (or her mother) would have your head off your shoulders in
a trice. And heaven defend anyone at Monash who adds a stray
syllable to the name of the "Department of Preventive Medicine."
Jim
Marc Adler
> a trice. And heaven defend anyone at Monash who adds a stray
> syllable to the name of the "Department of Preventive Medicine."
Yeah, but you know syncretic we Godzonians are. As long as we can make
ourselves understood, we don't insist on the niceties. The
Commonwealth is a different thing altogether, though.
--
Marc Adler
www.adlerpacific.com
Steven P. Venti
appreciate the input.
It was surprising to learn that so many people had never heard of and
were willing to disavow a word that has been a part of the English
language since the early 17th century--a time, I might add, when
Shakespeare was being roundly criticized for using nouns as verbs.
The OED give two senses of the word, with only one of them marked as
obsolete, and also has two usage examples, one from 1621 (the obsolete
sense) and another from 1866.
On the other hand, having since my childhood grown accustomed to being
excoriated for sesquipedalism and other aberrant linguistic
predilections, I'm more than willing to accept that it is a word most
people wouldn't use. So thanks for the reality check.
Although it was tangential to my purposes, I would like to comment on
the word preventative. The OED, even while acknowledging that preventive
is the preferable form, gives a dozen usage examples, dating back to
mid-17th century. More to the point, however, is that the vast majority
of these are from either the 19th or 20th century. Which leads me to
conclude that the notion "preventative" is anything less than a well
formed and perfectly acceptable English word is a patently untenable
misconception.
Based on what I could glean from the examples in the OED, however, it
would not surprise me to learn that the one reason "preventative" has
come to be treated as a linguistic pariah is that in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries, it was used as a euphemism for contraceptive
From the OED: 1934 Dylan Thomas Let. Oct. (1966) 143
Do you believe in preventatives?
So, perhaps some of the disdain with which the topic itself was so often
greeted eventually rubbed off on the euphemism, as well. That, however,
is mere speculation on my part.
Thanks again
Alan Siegrist
Steven P. Venti writes:
| The OED give two senses of the word, with only one of them marked as
| obsolete, and also has two usage examples, one from 1621 (the obsolete
| sense) and another from 1866.
Would you mind quoting the OED definition for us? Which sense is obsolete?
I ask because my Random-House Unabridged (2nd Ed.) does not list “habitate” at all. It does include “to habit” as a verb in the sense you mention. To wit:
habit2 v.t. 1. Archaic. To dwell in. –v.i. 2. Obs. To dwell. (1325-75; ME habiten < L habitāre to inhabit; see habitat)
Naturally, habitat and habitation are both listed, but no “habitate.”
I would tend to avoid using a word that is not even listed, even as being archaic or obsolete, in a fairly comprehensive dictionary like the Random-House.
I suppose people coin words all the time if there is good reason; some even go to the effort of reviving archaic or obsolete words. But I agree with Helen H. in that “habitate” does not seem to offer any advantage over the standard word “inhabit.”
If one wishes to resuscitate an archaic or obsolete word, how about the verb “to habit” rather than “to habitate”? I would not advise that either, though.
Steven P. Venti
> Would you mind quoting the OED definition for us? Which sense is obsolete?
habitate v. rare.
[f. L. habitat-, ppl. stem of habitare to dwell; but by Burton used as a
derivative of habit n.]
a. intr. To dwell.
b. trans. To habituate; = habit v. 4. Obs.
1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii. ii. vi,
They being now habitated to such meditations and solitary places,
can indure no company.
1866 J. B. Rose tr. Ovid's Fasti v. 626
Mars habitates in the city of his son.
Ibid. vi. 936
She doth habitate On Tiber's banks.
Note that, strictly speaking, neither of these is the sense (i.e.,
wildlife) that I mentioned, although I did find a couple of instances of
that usage on the net, such as:
http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/292337
Do wasps habitate a nest from the year before?
And, of course, there are plenty of instances of co-habitate on the 'Net.
But again, I am not advocating it; I am merely noting that the usage
does exist.
> I would tend to avoid using a word that is not even listed, even as
> being archaic or obsolete, in a fairly comprehensive dictionary like
> the Random-House.
Well, as long as we are giving out free advice, I would caution against
making blanket statements of any type, because word choice is entirely
dependent on the target reader and the purpose of the text.
The usages cited above by J. B. Rose were, after all, from a translation
of Ovid. <g>
Alan Siegrist
> habitate v. rare.
> [f. L. habitat-, ppl. stem of habitare to dwell; but by Burton used as a
> derivative of habit n.]
> a. intr. To dwell.
> b. trans. To habituate; = habit v. 4. Obs.
>
> 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii. ii. vi,
> They being now habitated to such meditations and solitary places,
> can indure no company.
>
> 1866 J. B. Rose tr. Ovid's Fasti v. 626
> Mars habitates in the city of his son.
> Ibid. vi. 936
> She doth habitate On Tiber's banks.
Thank you for that.
> Note that, strictly speaking, neither of these is the sense (i.e.,
> wildlife) that I mentioned, although I did find a couple of instances of
> that usage on the net, such as:
>
> http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/292337
> Do wasps habitate a nest from the year before?
The author of this question (member name "boredingeorgia") does not appear
to be any sort of wildlife expert. He/she also does not seem to be a master
of English grammar and syntax by any stretch of the imagination. Witness
several other postings by the same author:
http://i.answerbag.com/a_view/958028
He is who deliveres all the wonderful presents that all my family wants to
have without asking me.
http://i.answerbag.com/a_view/1020286
DAMN...I heard the same f@#$^$^ thing for six months? Your a joke. And so is
he for letting you come back! Guess your as good as he can get though...what
a piece of shit!!
> But again, I am not advocating it; I am merely noting that the usage
> does exist.
But you said that you are using this word. If you wish to join the august
company of boredingeorgia by using the word in this meaning, then by all
means do so.
> > I would tend to avoid using a word that is not even listed, even as
> > being archaic or obsolete, in a fairly comprehensive dictionary like
> > the Random-House.
>
> Well, as long as we are giving out free advice
I was under the impression that you were asking for advice. Please excuse me
if that impression was mistaken. I was simply telling you what I would do in
the same situation. I tend to be very conservative in word choices, but you
are not me and you can and will do what you like.
Wataru Tenga
> 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii. ii. vi,
> They being now habitated to such meditations and solitary places,
> can indure no company.
Why stop at the 17th century, Steve? Here's some stoff that's even aulder
fer ye.
"His hoote love was coold and al yqueynt,
For fro that tyme that he hadde kist hir ers,
Of paramours he sette nat a kers;
For he was heeled of his maladie."
Feel free to use in your translations. There's lots more where this came
from.
wataru
Steven P. Venti
> I was under the impression that you were asking for advice.
Apparently, you should learn to read more carefully. What I asked was if
anyone else ever uses the word.
Ta
Steven P. Venti
> There's lots more where this came from.
Yes, Wataru, if there is one thing that we can be sure of with you, it's
that there is always more where that came from.
Marc Adler
> For fro that tyme that he hadde kist hir ers,
He kist hir HWAET?
--
Marc Adler
www.adlerpacific.com
Alan Siegrist
> > For fro that tyme that he hadde kist hir ers,
>
> He kist hir HWAET?
I think he kissed her "ears" and not any other part of her anatomy.
But with such archaic spelling the text could very well be racier than I had
thought. :-O
Marc Adler
<AlanFS...@comcast.net> wrote:
> I think he kissed her "ears" and not any other part of her anatomy.
Um, actually, no.
His hot love was grown cold, aye and all quenched;
For, from the moment that he'd kissed her arse,
For paramours he didn't care a curse,
For he was healed of all his malady;
In fact, I'm pretty sure Wataru knew what he was doing when he quoted
Chaucer. ;-)
--
Marc Adler
www.adlerpacific.com
Alan Siegrist
> > I think he kissed her "ears" and not any other part of her anatomy.
>
> Um, actually, no.
>
> His hot love was grown cold, aye and all quenched;
> For, from the moment that he'd kissed her arse,
Oh dear, my ears are red now....
Steven P. Venti
Fremont gets turn at habitating tern
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_/ai_n16910305
The Washington State Legislature
Habitating in unauthorized places -- Prohibition.
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=174-136-040
University of California White Mountain Research Station
Vegetation from sites in riparian sectors around Mono Lake were gathered
and entered into a database which allowed them to be related to data
from nest plot surveys of habitating songbirds.
http://www.wmrs.edu/resources/data%20access/clearinghouse/contents/Mono-riparian-bird.htm
American Educational Products LLC
Just like the astronauts who will be habitating the International Space Station!
http://www.amep.com/cat_earthsci.asp?cid=37
The Tangmere Preservation Society
A number of local residents have advised us that there are Whiskered
Bats habitating in the engineering buildings and hangers.
http://spitfireboyproductions.com/
ShortNews.com
The recent findings of SIV were in wild chimpanzees habitating Cameroon in Africa.
http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=54521
Tulane University
If it's going to be a threat, we can get ahead of it and keep it from habitating
where it seems to be habitating.
http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=3465
United States Patent 3601094
Furthermore, as the accumulation on the tank bottom of diatoms which had
physiologically weakened increased, numerous bottom habitating organisms
which feed on these diatoms began to multiply.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3601094.html
Department of Fisheries, Government of Western Australia
Some of the vegetation communities (groups of plants) habitating the
islands are: coastal and dune heath, Dwarf shrubland, Saltlakes and low
saltbush flats, mangals (patches of mangrove forest) and eucalypt mallee.
http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/docs/pub/AbrolhosVisiting/index.php?0502
Advanced Education and Technology Website, Alberta
My research provides information about the communication behaviours and
the natural history of several species of chickadees habitating Alberta.
http://www.advancededucation.gov.ab.ca/technology/wwwtechnology_asp/sciyou/career_profiles_425.asp