Etymograph

English

conduct

Conduct comes from Late Latin conductus ‘escort’, from Latin conductus, the participle of condūcō ‘to bring together’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ‘to pull’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-1‘to pull’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déwkti1‘to pull’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*doukō1‘to lead’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdūcō1‘lead’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcondūcō2‘to bring together’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconductus2‘led together’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEconductus2‘defense, escort’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588conduct2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin conduco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English conduct
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “If thou wilt ſtay with me renowmed man, /…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-Wiktionary, Latin conduco‘to pull’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déwktiWiktionary, Latin conduco‘to pull’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*doukōWiktionary, Latin conduco‘to lead’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdūcōWiktionary, Latin conduco‘lead’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcondūcōWiktionary, English conduct‘to bring together’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconductusWiktionary, English conduct‘led together’
  7. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEconductusWiktionary, English conduct‘defense, escort’
  8. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588conductWiktionary, English conduct. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “If thou wilt ſtay with me renowmed man, /…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ‘to pull, to draw’

team, touch, tie, toy, introduce, tow, tying, tighten, tug, duchess, tuck, 105 more

through Proto-Indo-European *déwkti ‘to pull, to draw’

100 more

through Proto-Italic *doukō ‘to lead’

producer, productive, productivity, reproduce, reproduction, 104 more

through Latin dūcō ‘lead’

education, production, produce, product, reduce, duke, introduction, reduction, dolphin, educate, educator, douche, induce, induction, seduce, deduction, seduction, 129 more

through Late Latin condūcō ‘bring together’

conn, 7 more

Today it means

noun The act or method of controlling or directing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “conduct”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin conduco. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dewk- / conduct

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