{"id":626,"date":"2009-06-03T12:00:14","date_gmt":"2009-06-03T18:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/behoove\/"},"modified":"2011-05-31T07:48:42","modified_gmt":"2011-05-31T13:48:42","slug":"behoove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kirkmahoney.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/behoove\/","title":{"rendered":"“behoove”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I overheard this verb used in a sentence the other day.<\/p>\n

The sentence was something like “If you want to go to college, then it behooves you to do all your homework in high school.”<\/p>\n

I had been intending to look up this verb, and I finally did.<\/p>\n

You see, I was wondering whether “behoove” was somehow related to the noun “hoof”, the plural of which can be “hooves”.<\/p>\n

In particular, I was wondering whether “behoove” in some way once meant to put hooves on (oneself)<\/em> and had its meaning become a more generic to protect (oneself)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Okay, maybe that is a stretch.<\/p>\n

And I should have known better, given my knowledge of Spanish-language false cognates<\/a> for English speakers.<\/p>\n

One of my favorite false cognates is the Spanish word “embarazada”, which looks to many Americans like the English word “embarrassed” but actually means pregnant<\/em> instead.<\/p>\n

But I learned when I looked up the verb “behoove” that it originated a millennium or so ago and is related to the noun “behoof”, which means behalf<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Lesson learned (again!): Check your assumption about the meaning of a word when it looks like another word that you know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I overheard this verb used in a sentence the other day. The sentence was something like “If you want to go to college, then it behooves you to do all your homework in high school.” I had been intending to look up this verb, and I finally did. 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