"habit" originally referred to "the way in which a person held or exhibited himself, as in his manner of dress" (Compton‘s Encyclopedia Online, 1998). This original meaning of habit has been retained in the expressions nun's habit or riding habit, for example. This difference in etymology between "addict" and "habit" reflects the essential difference between these two phenomena of habit and addiction. The principal characteristic of addiction is the loss of control and freedom, while a habit is something that is assumed or donned, perhaps often, but it can nevertheless be removed if desired. In everyday speec
             ...