Habitual means done so regularly that it has become second nature. Not a decision any more.
It attaches to behaviour and to people, so a habitual latecomer or habitual absence. Applied to a person it is usually a criticism, since a habitual liar or a habitual offender is being described by a pattern rather than an act, and courts use the term precisely. There is a neutral use about routine, and somebody's habitual seat is simply the one they always take.
1adjectivehabitualDone regularly and by habit.
“He took his habitual place at the end of the bar.”
A habit is something you have. Latin habitus meant character, disposition or dress, from habeō, to hold or possess, so a habitual action is one you own rather than one you choose.
Proto-Indo-European
*gʰeh₁bʰ- — to grab, take
Latin
habitus — character; disposition; habit; physical or emotional condition; attire, dress
Medieval Latin
habituālis — customary; habitual
Middle English
habitual — of one's inherent disposition
English, today
habitual
Built from
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English habitual (“of one's inherent disposition”), from Medieval Latin habituālis (“customary; habitual”), from Latin habitus (“character; disposition; habit; physical or emotional condition; attire, dress”) + -ālis; analysable as habit + ual. Habitus is derived from habeō (“to have; to hold; to own; to possess”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʰeh₁bʰ- (“to grab, take”)) + -tus. The noun is derived from the adjective.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA