behavior
Meanings
- Human conduct relative to social norms.
- The way or manner a living creature behaves or acts generally.
- A state of probation about one's conduct.
- An observable response produced by an organism.
- The way a device or system operates.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- Proto-Indo-European *kap-der. Proto-Germanic *habjaną Proto-West Germanic *habbjan Proto-West Germanic *bihabbjan Old English behabban Middle English behaven Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *gʰh₁bʰéh₁yeti Proto-Italic *haβēō Latin habeō Old French avoirbor. Middle English havour Middle English behavoure English behavior From Middle English behavoure, behaver, from behaven (modern behave), morphologically equivalent to behave + -ior. The suffix was adopted in imitation of havour (modern haviour, havior), an etymologically unrelated word that was corrupted from Anglo‐Norman Anglo-Norman aveir and Old French Old French avoir (“property, wealth”) through false association with the native English verb have. The French term derives ultimately from Latin Latin habēre (“to have, hold”). Compare Scots havings (“behavior”), from have (“to behave”). Replaced Old English ġebǣru.