Where does “behaviour” come from?
Behaviour comes from Middle English behaven, meaning to bear or conduct oneself, with origins ultimately traceable to Old French and Germanic roots meaning to have or bear.
behaviour (English): The way a living creature behaves or acts; The...
Definitions
- The way a living creature behaves or acts; The...
Ancestry of “behaviour”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | -iour | Suffix added to verbs to form nouns; Alternative... |
| 2 | English | -our | — |
| 3 | Middle English | -our | — |
| 4 | Old French | -eor | Alternative form of -or |
| 5 | Latin | -ator | -ator, -er; second-person singular future passive... |
| 6 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |
Words derived from “behaviour”