Daily Ancestorhabitant
In French Canadian records habitant means a farmer settled on his own land; in France it usually means only an inhabitant or resident.
In New France the word first meant any free settler who owned property, as opposed to servants, soldiers and engagés. From the late 1600s it meant a farmer holding his own lot, and records combined it with a trade, as in habitant-charpentier.
The term stayed in use in Quebec until the early 1900s, when the word agriculteur replaced it. In France, habitant de cette paroisse simply means a resident of the parish, so the meaning depends on where the record was made.
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Daily Ancestor. "habitant." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/french/habitant. Last checked 2026-10-28.