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Origin and history of behoof

behoof(n.)

c. 1200, "use, benefit, advantage," from Old English *bihof "advantage, utility" (implied by bihoflic "useful," and compare behoove), from Proto-Germanic *bi-hof "that which binds, requirement, obligation" (source also of Old Frisian bihof "advantage," Dutch behoef, Middle High German bihuof "useful thing," German Behuf "benefit, use, advantage," Danish behov "need, necessity"). In the common Germanic compound, the first element, likely intensive, is cognate with be- and the second with Old English hof, past tense of hebban "to raise" (see heave (v.)). The original sense is perhaps, then, "taking up (for oneself)."

also from c. 1200

Entries linking to behoof

behoove(v.)

Middle English bihoven, from Old English behofian "to have need of, have use for," verbal form of the ancient compound word represented by behoof (q.v.). From c. 1200 as "be fit or meet for, be necessary for," now used only in the third person, with it as subject. Related: Behooved; behooving.

Historically, it rimes with move, prove, but being now mainly a literary word, it is generally made to rime with rove, grove, by those who know it only in books. [OED]
heave(v.)

Middle English heven, from Old English hebban "to lift, raise; lift up, exalt" (class VI strong verb; past tense hof, past participle hafen), from Proto-Germanic *hafjan (source also of Old Norse hefja, Dutch heffen, German heben, Gothic hafjan "to lift, raise"), from PIE *kap-yo-, from root *kap- "to grasp." The sense evolution would be "take, take hold of," thence "lift." Related to have (Old English habban "to hold, possess").

The meaning "to throw" is from 1590s. The nautical meaning "haul or pull" in any direction is by 1620s. Intransitive use is attested from early 14c. as "be raised or forced up;" 1610s as "rise and fall with alternate motion."

The sense of "retch, make an effort to vomit" is attested from c. 1600. Related: Heaved; heaving. Nautical heave-ho was a chant in lifting (c. 1300, hevelow; compare ho (interj.)).

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Trends of behoof

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

proof
devocalization of v to f ensued upon the loss of final e; cf. the relation of v and f in believe, belief, relieve, relief, behove, behoof...
serendipity
"faculty of making happy and unexpected discoveries," a rare word before 20c., coined by Horace Walpole in a letter to Horace Mann that is dated Jan. 28, 1754, but which apparently was not published until 1833. Walpole said he formed the word from the Persian fairy tale "The Thre
afflict
late 14c., "to cast down" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French aflicter, from Latin afflictare "to damage, harass, torment," frequentative of affligere (past participle afflictus) "to dash down, overthrow," from ad "to" (see ad-) + fligere (past participle flictus) "to strike.
news
late 14c., "new things," plural of new (n.) "new thing" (see new (adj.)); after French nouvelles, which was used in Bible translations to render Medieval Latin nova (neuter plural) "news," literally "new things." The English word was construed as singular at least from the 1560s,
lugubrious
"expressing or characterized by sadness or mournfulness; doleful," c. 1600, formerly also lugubrous, from -ous + Latin lugubris "mournful, doleful, pertaining to mourning," from lugere "to mourn," from PIE root *leug- "to break; to cause pain" (source also of Greek lygros "mournf
glory
c. 1200, gloire "the splendor of God or Christ; praise offered to God, worship," from Old French glorie "glory (of God); worldly honor, renown; splendor, magnificence, pomp" (11c., Modern French gloire), from Latin gloria "fame, renown, great praise or honor," a word of uncertain
idol
mid-13c., "image of a deity as an object of (pagan) worship," from Old French idole "idol, graven image, pagan god" (11c.), from Latin idolum "image (mental or physical), form," especially "apparition, ghost," but used in Church Latin for "false god, image of a pagan deity as an
impression
late 14c., "mark produced by pressure," also "image produced in the mind or emotions by something external," from Old French impression "print, stamp; a pressing on the mind" (13c.), from Latin impressionem (nominative impressio) "a pressing into, onset, attack," figuratively "a
dilettante
1733, "an admirer of a fine art, literature, science, etc., one who cultivates an art or literature casually and for amusement," a borrowing of Italian dilettante "lover of music or painting," from dilettare "to delight," from Latin delectare "to allure, delight, charm, please,"
Jehovah
1530, Tyndale's transliteration of Hebrew Tetragrammaton YHWH using vowel points of Adhonai "my lord" (see Yahweh). Used for YHWH (the full name being too sacred for utterance) in four places in the Old Testament in the KJV where the usual translation the lord would have been inc

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