To be necessary or proper for someone; to be one's duty or responsibility.
From Old English 'behófian,' related to Old Norse 'behófa' (to need). The word originally meant 'to be necessary for' and still carries that sense of obligation or appropriateness.
This word sounds incredibly formal and old-fashioned, but it's still used in legal and academic writing—'it behooves the court to...'—showing how some archaic words survive in specialized registers.
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