Contributing to or helping bring about a particular result or outcome; tending toward something.
From Middle English 'conduce,' derived from Latin 'conducere' (to lead together, combine), composed of 'con-' (together) and 'ducere' (to lead). The meaning evolved from the literal sense of leading things together to the abstract sense of contributing to an outcome.
This word is part of an ancient metaphorical family where 'leading' became 'contributing'—the same root gives us 'conduct,' 'aqueduct,' and 'seduce,' all originally about physical movement that metaphorically became about influence and causation.
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