[a. F. cohabitation, ad. late L. cohabitātiōn-em a dwelling together, f. cohabitāre to COHABIT.]
1. Dwelling or living together; community of life. arch. (or distinguished from 2 by use of hyphen and secondary stress on co-).
c. 1450. Mirour Saluacioun, 944. The womman Sunamyte dredde the cohabitacionne of Elye.
1555. Coverdale (title), A Treatise of the Cohabitacyon of the faithfull with the vnfaithfull.
1645. Milton, Tetrach. (1851), 163. He is not bid to leave the dear cohabitation of his father, mother, brothers and sisters.
1728. Newton, Chronol. Amended, ii. 210. Oannes taught the Chaldæans … Cohabitation in Cities.
1856. Olmsted, Slave States, 17. I am struck with the close co-habitation and association of black and white.
b. transf. and fig.
1551. Cranmer, Answ. Bp. Gardiner, 353 (T.). Nestorius graunted two natures in Christ, yet … by cohabitation or inhabitation, so that he made but one Christ.
1656. Jeanes, Fuln. Christ, 164. The cohabitation of the Godhead with the manhood, in the person of Christ.
1882. Vines, Sachs’ Bot., 329. The Alga which is the host of the Fungus become[s] modified in consequence of the cohabitation.
† c. Clustering as a community. Obs.
1662. Petty, Taxes, 24. While ever there are people in England, the greatest cohabitation of them will be about the place which is now London.
2. Living together as husband and wife (often with the implication of not being married: see COHABIT v. 2).
1548. Act 2 & 3 Edw. VI., c. 23 § 2. Sentence for Matrimony, commanding Solemnization, Cohabitation, Consummation, and Tractation.
1631. Star Chamb. Cases (Camden), 54. After this was the cohabitation continued and the children borne as before mentioned.
1690. Luttrell, Brief Rel. (1857), II. 54. For … holding correspondence and cohabitation with one not his wife.
1751. Chambers, Cycl., Co-habitation, implies a concubinage, or a copulation, or carnal knowledge, between two persons.
1751. Jortin, Eccl. Hist. (1845), I. xxxi. 422. The cohabitation of slaves was not called by the name of marriage.
1824. Coleridge, Aids Refl., 28. A large number of legal cohabitations have little claim to the name of Christian marriages.
† b. Sexual intercourse. Obs.
1579. Fenton, Guicciard., I. (1599), 38. The death of Galeas happened by immoderate cohabitacion.
