What is "habilitation"

Habilitation \Ha*bil`i*ta"tion\ (h[.a]*b[i^]l`[i^]*t[=a]"sh[u^]n), n. [LL. habilitatio: cf. F. habilitation.] Equipment; qualification. [Obs.]
--Bacon.

n. 1 Equipment; qualification. 2 An act of habilitate. 3 An academic qualification, prerequiring a PhD, required in order to gain tenure as a professor in some European universities; a thesis or dissertation presented to achieve the qualification.

Habilitation (from Latin habilis "fit, proper, skillful") is a post-doctoral qualification or academic degree at some European and Central Asian, North African, and Latin American universities. It is conferred for a habilitation thesis or inaugural dissertation based on independent scholarship, which was reviewed by and successfully defended before an academic committee in a process similar to that of a doctoral dissertation. In some countries, a habilitation degree is a required formal qualification to independently teach and examine a designated subject at the university level.