habité

Habité is the past participle of the French verb habiter, meaning to live or reside. As an adjective, habité describes something that is occupied by people or that contains inhabitants. It is used to qualify places or spaces that are lived in, such as une ville habitée, une région habitée, or des bâtiments habités.

Etymology and form: habité comes from habiter, itself from Latin habitare. As a past participle, it can agree in gender and number when used as an adjective: un village habité, une ville habitée, des villages habités, des villes habitées. When used in compound tenses with the auxiliary avoir, the participle generally does not agree with the subject, unless a preceding direct object requires agreement (for example, la ville que j’ai habitée).

Usage and nuance: habitée contrasts with inhabité or inhabité(e) to denote a place that is not inhabited or is devoid of residents, though inhabité is less common in everyday speech than its synonyms, such as déséquipé or déserté. The term habituellement appears in geographic, architectural, or planning contexts to indicate populated areas, residential zones, or structures that accommodate people. It is also used in demographic or census language to describe locations with resident populations.

Related terms: habitat (the natural or built environment where organisms live), habitation (the act or place of living), habitable (capable of being lived in). The opposite concept is often expressed with inhabité or déserté, depending on context.

See also: habiter, habitat, habitation, habitation humaine, urban planning.