behoove
[ bih-hoov ]
/ bɪˈhuv /
verb (used with object), be·hooved, be·hoov·ing.
to be necessary or proper for, as for moral or ethical considerations; be incumbent on: It behooves the court to weigh evidence impartially.
to be worthwhile to, as for personal profit or advantage: It would behoove you to be nicer to those who could help you.
verb (used without object), be·hooved, be·hoov·ing.
Archaic. to be needful, proper, or due: Perseverance is a quality that behooves in a scholar.
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Origin of behoove
before 900; Middle English behoven, Old English behōfian to need (behōf behoof + -ian infinitive suffix)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for behoove
behoove
Old English behofian "to have need of, have use for," verbal form of the ancient compound word represented by behoof.
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]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper