The word for today is…

recidivism (noun) – The repeating of or returning to criminal behavior by the same offender or type of offender.

Source : The Free Dictionary

Etymology : Recidivism means literally “a falling back” and usually implies “into bad habits.” It comes from the Latin word recidivus, which means “recurring.” Recidivus itself comes from the Latin verb recidere, which is a composite of the prefix re- and the verb cadere (meaning “to fall”) and means “to fall back.” Recidivists tend to relapse, or “fall back,” into old habits and particularly crime. Deciduous and incident are two other English words that have roots in cadere. Deciduous comes from the verb decidere (de- plus cadere), which means “to fall off.” And incident comes from incidere (in- plus cadere), which means “to fall into.”

Peter is a fourth-generation New Zealander, with his mother's and father's folks having arrived in New Zealand in the 1870s. He lives in Lower Hutt with his wife, some cats and assorted computers. His...