Behap

/bɪˈhæp/ verb

Definition

Archaic: to happen to occur; to befall or come about by chance or fortune.

Etymology

Be- + hap (from Old Norse happ 'luck, fortune'). The word originally meant 'to happen by chance,' with hap being an Old Germanic root meaning 'luck' or 'fortune.'

Kelly Says

Behap shares its root with 'mishap' and 'perhaps'—all from that Old Norse word for luck—so when you say 'perhaps' you're using an ancient cousin of 'behap,' though 'behap' itself is now completely obsolete.

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