Added 9 October 2026
behavior
/bɪˈheɪ.vjə/ noun
In Latin: actio, actus Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about behavior at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Manner of acting or controlling yourself.
-
The action or reaction of something (as a machine or substance) under specified circumstances.
the behavior of small particles can be studied in experiments
- (behavioral attributes) the way a person behaves toward other people.
Origin
From Middle English behavoure, behaver, from behaven (modern behave), morphologically equivalent to behave + -ior. The suffix was adopted in imitation of havour (modern haviour, havior), an etymologically unrelated word that was corrupted from Anglo‐Norman Anglo-Norman aveir and Old French Old French avoir (“property, wealth”) through false association with the native English verb have. The French term derives ultimately from Latin Latin habēre (“to have, hold”). Compare Scots havings (“behavior”), from have (“to behave”). Replaced Old English ġebǣru.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)