Category:Haunt

Haunt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Haunted; p. pr. & vb. n. Haunting.] Etym: [F. hanter; of uncertain origin, perh. from an assumed LL. ambitare to go about, fr. L. ambire (see Ambition); or cf. Icel. heimta to demand, regain, akin to heim home (see Home). sq. root36.]

1. To frequent; to resort to frequently; to visit pertinaciously or intrusively; to intrude upon. You wrong me, sir, thus still to haunt my house. Shak. Those cares that haunt the court and town. Swift.

2. To inhabit or frequent as a specter; to visit as a ghost or apparition. Foul spirits haunt my resting place. Fairfax.

3. To practice; to devote one's self to. [Obs.] That other merchandise that men haunt with fraud. . . is cursed. Chaucer. Leave honest pleasure, and haunt no good pastime. Ascham.

4. To accustom; to habituate. [Obs.] Haunt thyself to pity. Wyclif.

haunt Haunt, v. i.

Defn: To persist in staying or visiting. I've charged thee not to haunt about my doors. Shak.

haunt Haunt, n.

1. A place to which one frequently resorts; as, drinking saloons are the haunts of tipplers; a den is the haunt of wild beasts.

Note: In Old English the place occupied by any one as a dwelling or in his business was called a haunt. (See:Kenites)

Note: Often used figuratively. The household nook, The haunt of all affections pure. Keble. The feeble soul, a haunt of fears. Tennyson.

2. The habit of resorting to a place. [Obs.] The haunt you have got about the courts. Arbuthnot.

3. Practice; skill. [Obs.] Of clothmaking she had such an haunt. Chaucer.