Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Habitant
1.
An inhabitant; a dweller.
Milton.
Pope.
2.
[F. pron.
ȧˊbē̍ˊtäN′
] An inhabitant or resident; – a name applied to and denoting farmers of French descent or origin in Canada, especially in the Province of Quebec; – usually in the plural.
The
habitants
or cultivators of the soil. Parkman.
Webster 1828 Edition
Habitant
HAB'ITANT
,Noun.
Definition 2024
habitant
habitant
English
Noun
habitant (plural habitants)
- (Canada) a member of habitation colony at Stadacona founded by Samuel de Champlain, where Quebec City now lies
- (archaic) Inhabitant, dweller.
- 1874, James Thomson, The City of Dreadful Night
- Myriads of habitants are ever sleeping,
- Or dead, or fled from nameless pestilence!
- 1874, James Thomson, The City of Dreadful Night
French
Pronunciation
- (mute h) IPA(key): /a.bi.tɑ̃/
- Rhymes: -ɑ̃
- Homophone: habitants
Verb
habitant
- present participle of habiter
Noun
habitant m (plural habitants)
- An inhabitant of some place.
- (Quebec, pejorative) Someone who has a poor understanding of social conventions, making them look backward.
- (Quebec, dated or pejorative) Anybody from a rural or recently colonized area.
- (Canada, historical) A member of the habitation colony at Stadacona founded by Samuel de Champlain, where Quebec City now lies.
- (Quebec, colloquial) Montreal Canadiens hockey club or supporter of Montreal Canadiens hockey club.
Usage notes
- Although the term originates as legitimate to describe early French colonists and French Canadian farmers, it has now taken a strong pejorative aspect in Quebec French, and using it without an explicit location would be perceived as pejorative.