【Habit】 ,  【habitude】 ,  【practice】 ,  【usage】 ,  【custom】 ,  【use】 ,  【wont】  are comparable when they mean a way of behaving, doing, or proceeding that has become fixed by constant repetition.

These words may be used also as collective or abstract nouns denoting habits, usages, or customs, considered as a directing or impelling force.

【Habit】 refers more often to the way of an individual than to the way of a community or other group; the term applies to a way of behaving (as in acting or thinking) which has become so natural to one through repetition that it is done unconsciously or without premeditation.

【Habitude】 more often suggests an habitual or usual state of mind or attitude than an habitual response to a given stimulus.

【Practice】  (see  【practice】 n under  【PRACTICE】  ) applies to a 【habit】 which is by its nature an act or a method which is followed regularly and often by choice.

【Usage】  (see also FORM 3 ) applies mainly to a 【practice】 that has been so long continued and has been adopted so generally that it serves to guide or determine the action or choice of others.

Specifically, in reference to the meanings of words, grammatical constructions, and idiomatic forms where there is a difference of opinion,  【usage】 implies the long-continued and established 【practice】 of the best writers and speakers as the determining factor.

【Custom】 applies to a 【habit】 , 【practice】 , or 【usage】 that has come to be associated with an individual or a group by reason of its long continuance, its uniformity of character, and, sometimes, its compulsory nature.

Often  【custom】  denotes an established 【practice】 or 【usage】 or the body of established practices and usages of a community or of a people that has the force of unwritten law; thus, the English common law is based upon  【custom】 rather than upon legislation.

Consequently, 【custom】 when used as a collective or abstract noun commonly implies a force as strong, as binding, and as difficult to escape as that exerted by those who enforce the law of the land.

【Use】  (see also  【USE】 1 ) commonly denotes an action, manner, rite, or 【practice】 that is customary to an individual or a particular group and distinguishes him or it from others.

【Wont】  usually applies to a habitual manner, method, or 【practice】 distinguishing an individual or group; it not only differs little from  【use】  except in its narrower range of application but is often coupled with  【use】 as a term of equivalent content.