behoove (2009-05-11)

Part of Speech: verb

Pronunciation: [bee-'huv]

Definition: No, this word does not refer to the development of hooves on cows and horses. It means "to oblige, to make obliged to, to make incumbent upon." In Scotland and some parts of English it is also used to mean "to need, to be necessary."

Usage: At this point it behooves me to provide an example of today's word. (Oops! It seems I already have.) This word sometimes has moral or ethical overtones: "It behooves us all to think about who we are cheating when we cheat on income taxes in a country of, by, and for ourselves."

Suggested Usage: Today's word is an old one that is used almost exclusively in the construction "It behooves someone to . . . ," as "It behooves us all to move cautiously." It generally requires a direct object; however, in Scotland, where the verb also means "to need," expressions like, "We behooved to instigate an enquiry," occasionally emerge. "Behove" is an alternative that is still acceptable. Either way, this word is an orphan without adjective or noun family members.

Etymology: Today's word is an English original from Old English behofian from a Germanic compound *bi-hof, "which binds: obligation." The same root gave us "heavy" from Germanic *hafigaz "containing something, having weight." "Haven" comes from Germanic *hafn- "place that holds ships" and "hawk" is probably related, too. Latin capere "to sieze" comes from the same root. Its past participle, captus, underlies English "capture," "captive," and the verbs on -cept: "intercept," "inception." The frequentative of this verb, "captare," became cachier "to chase" in French and was borrowed by English to refer to the end of a successful chase: "catch."