Etymologically
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conduct

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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

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