habitat

Definitions

habitat is a whole Latin word frozen into English: the third-person present of habitāre 'to dwell,' so it literally means 'it dwells/lives (here).' Naturalists' Latin descriptions noted 'habitat in...' to say where a species lived, and English lifted out that one word to name the living place itself.

Why It Means This

Unlike most English nouns, habitat didn't start as a thing — it started as a verb. It was a label in scientific Latin meaning 'it lives in,' and the place got named after the verb that described living there. So a habitat is, at root, an act of dwelling turned into a location.

Common Collocations

• 1.natural habitat自然栖息地
• 2.wildlife habitat野生动物栖息地
• 3.habitat loss栖息地丧失
• 4.habitat destruction栖息地破坏
• 5.marine habitat海洋生境

Example Sentences

• 1.

  Pollution is destroying the natural habitat of many birds.

• 2.

  Pandas need a habitat with plenty of bamboo.

• 3.

  The reserve protects the habitat of endangered species.