▪ I. haunt, v.
(hɔːnt, hɑːnt)
Also 3–4 haunten, 4 hauntyn, hanten, 4–6 haunte, 4–7 hant(e, 5 hawntyn.
[a. F. hante-r (12th c. in Littré), of uncertain origin: see Diez, Littré, Hatz.-Darm.
From the uncertainty of the derivation, it is not clear whether the earliest sense in F. and Eng. was to practise habitually (an action, etc.) or to frequent habitually (a place). The order here is therefore provisional.]
I. trans.
† 1. To practise habitually, familiarly, or frequently. Obs.
| c 1230 Hali Meid. 25 Unseli horlinges unlaheliche hit haunteð in inwarde helle. Ibid. 33 Þe nuten neauer hwat hit is & hatieð þat ha haunteð. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 320 Þe kyng said..þe pape..haunted Maumetrie. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 74 And leueþ hit to losels þat lecherie haunten. c 1375 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. (E.E.T.S.) 601 Haunte studie, þauȝ þou haue Wel conceyued þi craft. c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. xi. 214 Men woned for to haunte daili contemplacioun. 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1874) I. 195 His preceptis hant kepe and exercyse. 1573 Tusser Husb. lxvii. (1878) 155 The honestie in deede I graunt, Is one good point the wife should haunt, To make hir husband thriue. |
† 2. To use or employ habitually or frequently; refl. to use, accustom, or exercise oneself. Obs.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter I. 1 Þerfor is þis psalme mast hauntid [v.r. vsede] in halykirke. c 1340 ― Prose Tr. (1866) 20 Men or women the which hauntene leuefully worldely goodes. 1382 Wyclif Exod. xiv. 31 The greet hoond that the Lord hauntide aȝens hem. ― 1 Tim. iv. 7 Haunte [exerce] thi silf to pite. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy ii. xii, How wyues and maydens in that companie..Haunted be, and used at theyr luste. 1588 J. Mellis Briefe Instr. G j, Diuers and sundry goldes.. which..yee may reduce into your vsuall money, such as you daily haunt. |
| [1893 Northumbld. Gloss., Hant, to haunt, to accustom, as a pigeon to its dovecot.] |
3. To resort to frequently or habitually; to frequent or be much about (a place).
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 413/381 Formest he gan haunti wakes. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 534 Sir Edward..hauntede tornemiens with wel noble route. 1382 Wyclif Dan. xiii. 6 These ofte hauntiden the hous of Joachym. c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 106 We haunten none tauernes. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2963 Hit were..semly for wemen, Þaire houses to haunt & holde hom within. c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn lii. 201 Takyng a waye whiche was not moche haunted. 1529 More Dyaloge iii, Hunne had haunted heretikes lectures by nighte long before. 1538 Leland Itin. III. 33 The Town was hauntid with Shippes of diverse Nations. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. xxii. 59 b, The Turks wives..delight at al times to haunt the bathes. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 12 Ye Nymphs that haunt the Mountains and the Plains. 1710 Whitworth Acc. Russia (1758) 12 The rest of the country to Astracan..is haunted by the Calmucks. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iv. I. 459 She was the daughter of a poor Cavalier knight who haunted Whitehall. 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 46 It is difficult, unless you have haunted these seas, to realise the interest we take..there in currents. |
4. To frequent the company of (a person), to associate with habitually; to ‘run after’. (Now chiefly transferred from 5 b.)
| 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 37 Yf thou haue haunted eny felowe, and thou se hys companye is not couenable vnto the, spare it. 1580 Sidney Arcadia (1622) 5 A man who for his hospitalitie is so much haunted, that no newes stirre, but come to his eares. 1594 Carew Huarte's Exam. Wits. x. (1596) 130 The preacher..who hath the conditions of a perfect Orator..is more haunted than he that wanteth them. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. (1817) III. 914 He [was] removed from Shrewsbury where he was much haunted by his party. 1713 Swift On Himself Wks. 1755 IV. i. 11 A certain doctor is observed of late To haunt a certain minister of state. 1890 Saintsbury Ess. 98 Rather given to haunting rich men. |
5. transf. and fig. Of unseen or immaterial visitants. a. Of diseases (obs.), memories, cares, feelings, thoughts: To visit frequently or habitually; to come up or present themselves as recurrent influences or impressions, esp. as causes of distraction or trouble; to pursue, molest.
| 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 228 One that is haunted with a fever or quivering ague. Ibid. 363 Heavinesse shall never haunt your heart, whiles your mind is marching with the Muses. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. ii. 122 Your beauty, that did haunt me in my sleepe, To vndertake the death of all the world. 1615 J. Stephens Satyr. Ess. (ed. 2) 240 He is ever haunted with a blushing weakenesse. 1724 R. Welton 18 Disc. 469 He hath no secret guilt that haunts and doggs him. 1838 Lytton Alice 7 Regret of another kind still seems to haunt you. 1855 Bain Senses & Int. iii. i. §12 A painful recollection will haunt a person through life. |
b. esp. Of imaginary or spiritual beings, ghosts, etc.: To visit frequently and habitually with manifestations of their influence and presence, usually of a molesting kind. to be haunted: to be subject to the visits and molestation of disembodied spirits.
| 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. i. 107 O monstrous. O strange. We are hanted; pray masters, flye masters, helpe. 1593 ― Rich. II, iii. ii. 158 Some haunted by the Ghosts they haue depos'd. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. iii. ii, Bug-beares and spirits haunted him. 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 312 They were told..how there was a Chamber haunted with spirits, and strangely molested with horrible rumblings. a 1679 Ld. Orrery Herod Gt. iii, My ghost shall haunt thee out in every place. 1722 Sewel Hist. Quakers (1795) I. iv. 244 It was much talked of, that spirits haunted this dungeon, and walked there. 1847 Lytton Lucretia 301 We need not that boy's Ghost amongst those who haunt us. 1871–4 J. Thomson City Dreadf. Nt. vii. i, Phantoms haunt those shadowy streets. |
II. intr.
† 6. To be wont or accustomed. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 12683 Sua haunted he on knes to lij. c 1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. iv. 1223 Al her gret trost..With þe whiche thei haunted her goddis for to calle. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) iv. 33 Thocht bruckill wemen hantis In lust to leid thair lyvis. |
7. To resort habitually; to stay or remain usually (in a place); to associate (with a person). Now usually said of the lower animals.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 15742 Iudas wel he kneu þe stede quar iesus was hauntand. a 1375 Lay Folks Mass Bk. App. iv. 439 Þer a Neddre hauntes. 1481 Caxton Myrr. i. xiv. 47 (Promp. Parv.) It is good for to haunte amonge the vertuous men. 1526 Tindale John xi. 34 Jesus..there haunted with his disciples. 1532–3 Act 24 Hen. VIII, c. 10 All maner of choughes.. breedynge or hauntynge within or vppon anye the sayde manours. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. iii. Colonies 391 Where now fell Tartars hant In wandring troops. 1604 Shakes. Oth. i. i. 96, I haue charg'd thee not to haunt about my doores. 1627 Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. 35 Be diligent to know with whom she loveth to haunt. 1789 G. White Selborne xii. (1853) 52 Some birds haunting with the missel-thrushes. 1860 Hawthorne Marb. Faun (1879) I. xvi. 158 A homeless dog, that haunted thereabouts. |
† 8. To have resort, betake oneself, go to. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 13691 Mont oliuet it es an hill þat iesus hanted mikel till. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. ccxxiii. [ccxix.] 695 There haunted into Turkey a marchaunt genouoy of the isle of Sio. 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. xv. 132 My counsell is expres, That to your wyfis ye hant. 1632 Lithgow Trav. i. 28 To Lorett people haunt with naked feete. |
▪ II. haunt, n.
(hɔːnt, hɑːnt)
Also 4–6 haunte, 6–7, 20 hant.
[f. haunt v.]
1. a. Habit, wont, custom, usage. Now dial.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 4730 Ilkaman after his auenaunt Made offrynge, as was his haunt. c 1449 Pecock Repr. 248 So grete Evidences of the Faith..ben hadde in so greet Haunt & uce. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. ii. ii. iv. (1651) 275 When once they have got a haunt of such companies, and habit of gaming. 1674 Temple Let. to Coventry Wks. 1731 II. 307 'Tis hard for a Man to lose a good Haunt, or an ill Custom. 1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss., Haunt, a habit. ‘He has a sad haunt on 't’, a fixed habit of doing so and so. 1894 Hetton-le-hole Gloss. s.v. Hant, ‘He has a nasty hant of doing that’. |
† b. Habitual practice or use (of anything).
| c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 447 Of clooth makyng she hadde swich an haunt [Camb. MS. hand], She passed hem of ypres and of Gaunt. c 1449 Pecock Repr. i. xviii. 103 Summe ben..avoutreris in greet haunt and contynuaunce. 1513 Douglas æneis iv. Prol. 249 Eschew thine hant, and mynniss all thi mycht. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) II. 216 Than wes not usit sic hant of dise and cartis as ar now usit. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. iii. 74 For their haunt and traficke of merchandise. |
† 2. a. The act or practice of frequenting or habitually resorting to a place, etc.; resort. of great haunt: much frequented. Obs.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 223 Of Axholm to þe Ile he scaped himself alon..þer he held his haunt. c 1345 Orpheo 295 Of game they fonde grete haunt. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xvii. 94 A straw for þe stywes..And þey hadde non oþer haunt bote of poure peple! 1565–73 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Copiosus, Urbs celebris & copiosa..a citie of great haunt and well peopled. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. i. 15 This our life exempt from publike haunt, Findes tongues in trees, bookes in the running brookes. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull i. vii, John Bull..had got such a haunt about the courts of justice. |
† b. Companionship, society, company. Obs.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xiv. 7 Sic hant of harlettis with thame bayth nicht and day. 1552 Huloet, Hawnte or felowshyp, familiaritas, frequentia. |
3. concr. A place of frequent resort or usual abode; a resort, a habitation; the usual feeding-place of deer, game, fowls, etc.; often, a den or place frequented by the lower animals or by criminals.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1753 In þat tyme wer here non hauntes Of no men bot of geauntes. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xi. xi. (1495) 396 Snowe is noyefull to wylde beestes; for he..sheweth and dyscoueryth theyr hauntes and steppes. 1551 R. Robinson tr. More's Utop. Meter of Utopia (1895) p. xciii, Me Utopie cleped Antiquitie, Voyde of haunte and herboroughe. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. i. 53 We talke here in the publike haunt of men. 1684 R. H. School Recreat. 145 To know the Haunts and Resorts of Fish, in which they are to be usually found. 1735 Somerville Chase ii. 261 From Brake to Brake she [a hare] flies, and visits all Her well-known Haunts. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. i. (ed. 4) 169 This place being the usual haunt of the buccaneers and privateers. 1841 W. Spalding Italy & It. Isl. I. 345 One of the most noted haunts of the ancient highwaymen. 1855 Tennyson Brook 23, I come from haunts of coot and hern. |
| fig. 1614 Bp. Hall Recoll. Treat. 116 Sinne where it hath gotte an haunt looketh for more. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. cx, The feeble soul, a haunt of fears. |
† 4. (?) A topic, a subject of discussion. Obs.
| 1622 Donne Serm. clv. (ed. Alford) VI. 213 When some..points that beat upon that Haunt, had been ventilated. 1656 J. Harrington Oceana (1658) 162 Appius Claudius (still upon the old haunt) would have it [etc.]. 1658 ― Prerog. Pop. Govt. ii. v. (1660) 81 But this..is not to come off from the haunt, but to run still upon the People in a common or publick capacity. |
5. local U.S. and Eng. A spirit supposed to haunt a place; a ghost. Also (occas.) in wider use.
| 1843 Winnemore & Reps Cudjo's Wild Hunt (song) 3 It am de hunt ob Cudjo dat nigger so bold. 1878 Mrs. A. W. Hunt Hazard of Die I. vi. 131 Our Cordy is terrible for being afeard o' haunts. 1896 Mrs. Stowe Oldtown Folks vi. 80 But this 'ere's a regular haunt,..they both on 'em said..they'd seen a figger of a man. 1902 Westm. Gaz. 5 Feb. 2/1 This is the ‘haunt’ that troubles all our minds, and, especially, that comes forth..when the question is of peace by arrangement. 1933 M. Emmons in B. A. Botkin Treas. S. Folklore (1949) iii. ii. 540 One never knows when the most sociable of cats may turn out to be a witch or a ‘ha'nt’. 1934 B. A. Botkin in W. T. Couch Culture in South xxvi. 589 A Bible or a sharp object under the pillow will keep away both ‘hants’ and witches. 1935 Scribner's Mag. XCVII. 121/2 Old Joe's daid an' gone But his hant blows de hawn. 1943 W. C. Hendricks Bundle of Trouble 98 Then the wife told the hant who her husband is, and the hant begun at the start and told it all over agin. 1952 W. R. Titterton in Columba Aug. 102/1 We had a haunt in our flat. Father Vincent came home with us that day, and blessed the place, and the haunt was no more. 1965 ‘Malcolm X’ Autobiogr. i. 20 It was spooky, with ghosts and spirituals and ‘ha'nts’ seeming to be in the very atmosphere when finally we all came out of the church. |