Middle English: from Old French, from Latin conduct- ‘brought together’, from the verb conducere. The term originally denoted a provision for safe passage, surviving in safe conduct; later the verb sense ‘lead, guide’ arose, hence ‘manage’ and ‘management’ (late Middle English), later ‘management of oneself, behavior’ (mid 16th century). The original form of the word was conduit, which was preserved only in the sense ‘channel’ (see conduit); in other uses the spelling was influenced by Latin.