conduct

Pronunciation

• IPA: noun: UK /ˈkɒn.dʌkt/, US /ˈkɑːn.dʌkt/; verb: /kənˈdʌkt/^[1]

Etymology

It is an alteration, influenced by Latin conductus, of earlier conduit, condyt,^[2][3] from Old French conduit, conduite (“leading, guiding, escorting”),^[2][3] from Medieval Latin conductus,^[4] the past participle of Latin condūcere “to lead or bring together”,^[4][5] from con- “together” and dūcere “to lead”,^[4] from Proto-Indo-European *deuk- (“to lead”).^[4] It is a doublet of conduit,^[4] and related to conduce, duct and produce.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun, provision for guidance or an escort: about 1290 in the OED;^[7] about 1441 in Barnhart, in the phrase safe conduct.^[5] The verb, to guide or lead: before 1422 in Barnhart,^[5] the early 15th century in Etymonline.^[4]

Semantic evolution

To command, originally an army, is from the mid-15th century,^[4] and to direct or manage business from 1632.^[5][4] The noun “manner of conducting oneself, behaviour” is from the 1670s,^[4] the 17th century in Hoad,^[3] and the verb “to behave” from 1706–1710.^[5][4] To direct a musical performance is from 1791.^[4] In physics, to transmit heat or electricity, it is from 1740.^[5][4] The Century Dictionary noted that to conduct is to lead with personal supervision a definite task that comes to an end, such as a service, a funeral or a campaign.^[4] The guiding sense of the noun survives in safe conduct.^[3][8]

Timeline

• c. 1290 – provision for guidance, escort.^[7]
• a. 1422 – verb, to guide.^[5]
• mid-15th century – to command.^[4]
• 1632 – to manage business.^[5]
• 1670s – noun, behaviour.^[4]
• 1706–10 – verb, to behave.^[5]
• 1740 – to transmit heat or electricity.^[5][4]
• 1791 – to direct music.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The way a person behaves, especially in public or at work.
2. The way an activity is organized and carried out.

Verb

1. To organize and carry out: conduct a survey.
2. To lead or guide someone.
3. To direct an orchestra or choir.
4. To behave in a particular way: conduct oneself well.
5. Of a substance, to allow heat or electricity to pass through it.

Word family

• conductibility
• conductible
• misconduct
• safe-conduct
• conductimetry
• superconduct
• conductance
• conduction

Related words

• conduit
• conduce
• duct
• produce
• conductor

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press