behavior

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁ep-
2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éps
3. Proto-Indo-European*h₁épi
4. Proto-Indo-European*h₁pi
5. Proto-Germanic*bi
6. Proto-Germanic*bi-
7. Proto-West Germanic*bi-
8. Proto-Indo-European*kap-
9. Proto-Germanic*habjaną
10. Proto-West Germanic*habbjan
11. Proto-West Germanic*bihabbjan
12. Old Englishbehabban
13. Middle Englishbehaven
14. Proto-Indo-European*gʰeh₁bʰ-
15. Proto-Indo-European*gʰh₁bʰéh₁yeti
16. Proto-Italic*haβēō
17. Latinhabeō
18. Old Frenchavoir
19. Middle Englishhavour
20. Middle Englishbehavoure
21. English todaybehavior

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.

Words from the same roots