behavior

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɪˈheɪ.vjə/ (UK); /bɪˈheɪ.vjəɹ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English behaver, later behavour,^[2] essentially from behave,^[3][2][4] but with the ending of Middle English havour “possession, bearing”,^[3][2] an alteration under the influence of have of aver, a noun use of Old French aveir “to have”,^[3][2] from Latin habēre.^[2] The Concise Oxford adds the pattern of demeanour.^[5][6] The spelling with i appeared in 1538, influenced by havior.^[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Manner of behaving, good or bad; conduct, manners: before 1425 in Barnhart, in a translation of Higden's Polychronicon;^[2] the late 15th century in Etymonline^[3] and 1490 in the OED.^[8]

Semantic evolution

“Conduct towards others” is from 1515,^[8] and to be on one's good behaviour from 1538.^[8] From the 1670s it was used of the way a thing acts under given conditions, as of a substance or machine.^[8] In psychology it is the actions and reactions of an organism to stimuli,^[9][10] and behaviour pattern is from 1921.^[8] Behaviorism was coined in 1913 by John B. Watson.^[2] Johnson's definitions include “external appearance” and “gesture; manner of action”.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 1425 – manner of behaving.^[2]
• 1515 – conduct towards others.^[8]
• 1538 – the spelling with i, and on one's good behaviour.^[2][8]
• 1674 – of things.^[8]
• 1913 – behaviorism.^[2]
• 1921 – behaviour pattern.^[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The manner in which one behaves; conduct.
2. The actions or reactions of persons, animals or things in response to stimuli.
3. The way a machine, substance or system functions.

Word family

• behavioral
• behaviorally
• behaviorism
• behaviorist
• misbehavior
• behavior pattern
• behavioral science

Related words

• behave
• have
• behaviour
• demeanor

Usage notes

Behavior is the American spelling and behaviour the British one.^[12] The American Heritage distinguishes behavior, the most general term, from conduct and deportment.^[9]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
10. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press