From Latin 'habitare' (to dwell), from 'habere' (to have) — literally one who 'has' a place by dwelling there.
A person or animal that lives in or occupies a particular place; a resident.
From Old French inhabitant, from Latin inhabitantem (present participle of inhabitāre, to dwell in, to live in), a compound of in- (in, within) and habitāre (to dwell, to reside, to inhabit — literally to have repeatedly or to keep having), the frequentative form of habēre (to have, to hold, to keep). Latin frequentatives typically denote repeated or habitual action: habitāre thus means not merely to have a place but to keep on having it — to dwell there persistently. The PIE root behind habēre is *gʰabʰ- (to give, to receive), which produced Latin habēre and its vast word family — habit (a habitual way of holding
The connection between 'inhabit' and 'habit' is not accidental. Latin 'habitāre' (to dwell) is the frequentative of 'habēre' (to have). To dwell somewhere is to 'have' it repeatedly — to be in the habit of being there. A 'habit' (a regular practice) and a 'habitat' (a regular dwelling place) are both things one