Etymologically
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behavior

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 20:38. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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
  • 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