Wont

Wont is a noun meaning a habitual practice or custom. It refers to something a person or group tends to do regularly or as a matter of habit. The term is often used in formal or literary contexts and can convey a sense of settled routine or accepted behavior.

In modern English, the word is most commonly encountered in the phrase “to be wont to do something,” meaning to be accustomed or inclined to do it. For example, “She was wont to rise early and take a walk before breakfast.” The noun form can appear in expressions such as “his wont” or “the wont of the village,” though such uses are more typical of older writing.

Wont as an adjective is archaic and meaning “accustomed.” It appears in phrases that describe someone’s usual manner or behavior, though in contemporary usage it is mostly replaced by more common words like accustomed or usual.

Etymology traces the word back to Old English gewunian, with Middle English forms later becoming wonte or wont(e). The sense evolved to denote habitual behavior or a customary practice, a meaning retained in the fixed expression “to be wont to.”

Related terms include habit, custom, and practice; the related adjective wonted means usual or customary. The word should not be confused with won’t, the contraction of will not, which is a different word with a distinct meaning and spelling.

See also: habit, custom, practice, wonted, won’t.