from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Behavior \Be*hav"ior\, n.
Manner of behaving, whether good or bad; mode of conducting
one's self; conduct; deportment; carriage; -- used also of
inanimate objects; as, the behavior of a ship in a storm; the
behavior of the magnetic needle.
[1913 Webster]
A gentleman that is very singular in his behavior.
--Steele.
[1913 Webster]
{To be upon one's good behavior}, {To be put upon one's good
behavior}, to be in a state of trial, in which something
important depends on propriety of conduct.
{During good behavior}, while (or so long as) one conducts
one's self with integrity and fidelity or with propriety.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Bearing; demeanor; manner.
Usage: {Behavior}, {Conduct}. Behavior is the mode in which
we have or bear ourselves in the presence of others or
toward them; conduct is the mode of our carrying
ourselves forward in the concerns of life. Behavior
respects our manner of acting in particular cases;
conduct refers to the general tenor of our actions. We
may say of soldiers, that their conduct had been
praiseworthy during the whole campaign, and their
behavior admirable in every instance when they met the
enemy.
[1913 Webster]