To admit, allow, or apply something; to use or employ something for a particular purpose (archaic term).
From Latin adhibire or adhibere, where ad- means 'to' and habere means 'to have' or 'to hold.' The word literally means 'to bring to' or 'to apply to,' and was used in English from the 16th-18th centuries.
This Latin-rooted verb barely survives in modern English, but it reveals how Romans thought about using tools and knowledge—not just possessing them, but actively bringing them to bear on problems!
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