behavior 
Kven at dancing parties, where it \v<ml<i seem that the 
p.ietrv "f motion might <l(i something to soften the rigid 
bcMora of Venetian tli'iHirliiii'iit, the poor young people 
separate after each dance. Ilii/ivllx, Venetian Life, x\i. 
All elderly gentleman, large and portly ami of ivmark- 
ably dignified dflmMmofj passhm >ioui\ along. 
llinrfltnriK', Seven Gables, iv. 
behead (be-hed'), r. t. [< ME. bfhfdi-n, biln-f- 
dfu, biltrmlrn, < AS. Mictifdiiin (= .\IIKi. IM-- 
liDi/lictcn ; cf. 0. fiit-luiiipten D. on-titoofden), 
behead, < lie-, hero priv., + ln'tifod, head: see 
6c-l and /lead] 1. To cut off the head of; kill 
or execute by decapitation. 
Klissell anil Sidney wore liehmdnl in defiance i.f law 
and justice. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., ii. 
2. Figuratively, to deprive of the hend, top, or 
foremost part of: as, to behead a statue or a 
word. 
beheading (be-hed'ing), H. [Verbal n. of bc- 
Iniii/.] The act of cutting off the head; spe- 
cifically, execution by decapitation. 
In Dahomey there are frequent lifhrmlingi that the vic- 
tims, going to the other world to serve the dead king, may 
earry messages from his living descendant. 
//. Xjirncer, Prill, of Sociol., 141. 
beheld (be-held'). Preterit and past participle 
of behold. 
behellt (be-hel'), r. t. [< 6e-l + 7ic.] To tor- 
ture as with pains of hell. 
Did bekell and rack him. 
behemoth (be-he'mpth), n. [< Heb. Vhcmtitli, 
appar. pi. of excellence, 'great beast,' sing. 
Iflif.mah, a beast, but supposed to be an adap- 
tation of Egypt, p-ehe-mau, lit. water-ox.] An 
animal mentioned in Job xl. 15-24; probably, 
from the details given, a hippopotamus, but 
sometimes taken for some other animal, or for 
a type of the largest land-animals generally. 
Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee, he eat- 
eth grass as an ox. Job xl. 15. 
Behold in plaited mail 
Behemoth rears his head. 
Thomson, Summer, 1. 710. 
behen, ben 6 (be 'hen, ben), n. [Also written be- 
ken, been, appar. a corruption of Ar. bahmax, 
bchmen, a kind of root, also the flower llosa ca- 
Mtna.] An old name of the bladder-campion, 
Silenc inflata. The behen-root of old pharmacists is said 
to have been the root of Centaurea Bfhen and of Statice 
Liinonium, distinguished as white and red behen. 
behest (be-hesf), [< ME. behest, bihest, be- 
hcste, etc.', with excrescent t, earlier behese, < 
late AS. behces, a promise, vow (equiv. to behdt 
= OHG. biheiz, a promise; cf. behight, .), < bc- 
hdtan, promise: see behight,v., and hest.~\ If. A 
vow; a promise. Chaucer; Gower; Holland. 
2. A command ; precept ; mandate. 
Where I have learn'd me to repent the sin 
Of disobedient opposition 
To you and your behests. Shak., R. and J., iv. 2. 
He did not pause to parley nor protest, 
But hastened to obey the Lord's behest. 
Longfellow, Torquemada. 
behestt (be-hesf), v. t. [< ME. behesten, prom- 
ise, < beheste, a promise: see behest, .] To 
promise ; vow. 
behetet, v. A Middle English form of behight. 
behewt, v. t. [< ME. behewen, hew about, carve, 
< AS. behedwan, hew off, < be- (in AS. priv.) 
+ hedwan, cut, hew.] To carve ; adorn ; embel- 
lish. 
Al with gold behewe. Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 1306. 
behightt (be-hlf), v. [The common spelling 
in Spenser and his contemporaries of both 
present and preterit of ME. pres. inf. beheten, 
regularly behoten, earlier behaten (pret. behight, 
bchir/hte, earlier beheht, behet, pp. behoten, later 
behight), < AS. behdtan (pret. behet, pp. behaten) 
(= OHG. bihaizan, MHG. beheizen), promise, 
< be- + hdtan, command, call: see be- 1 and 
highf 2 . The forms in ME. were confused, like 
those of the simple verb. The proper sense of 
behight is 'promise'; the other senses (found 
only in Spenser and contemporary archaists) 
are forced, being in part taken from hight 2 .] I. 
trans. 1. To promise; vow. 
The trayteresse fals and ful of gyle, 
That al behoteth and nothing halt. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 621. 
Bchight by vow unto the chaste Minerve. 
Surrey, JSneid, ii. 
2. To call ; name. 
That Oeauntesse Argante is behight. 
Spenser, F. Q., III. vii. 47. 
3. To address. 
Whom soone as he beheld he knew, and thus behight. 
Siicnuer, V. Q., V. iv. 25. 
4. To pronounce ; declare to be. 
Why of late 
Didst thou behi'jM me borne of English blood? 
Spenser, F. Q., I. x. 64. 
509 
5. To mean; intend. 
Words sometimes mean mure than the heart ln'hilrih. 
Mir. .I'm- M,I : I., p. -Kil. 
6. To commit ; intrust. 
The keica are to thy hand Miijihl. 
,S'//*T, K. <.)., I. x. Mi. 
7. To adjudge. 
There was it judged, by those worthir wights, 
That Satyranc the lir.it day ln-.-t had doline : . . . 
The second was to Triamiuid W/ ///''. 
Sjn'iixfr. F. ()., IV. v. 7. 
8. To command; ordain. 
So, taking courteous conge, he brlii.iht 
Those gates to be imliar'd. and forth h went. 
Sii'-nxer, V. C}., II. xi. 17. 
II. iiitraiin. To address one's self. 
And lowly to her lowting thus lirlii : i/ii. 
Sfenter, !'. ((., IV. ii. (. 
behightt (be-hit/), M. [< behii/lil, r. Cf. ME. bc- 
lict, belt/it, (what, < AS. belidt, a promise. See 
bclient."\ A promise; vow; pledge. Surrey. 
behind (bc-hind'), rfc. and prep. [< ME. be- 
hindc, bchi'ndcii, < AS. Ixiiiiidtin (= OS. bihindan), 
adv. and prep., behind, < be, by, + li/ii/lun, adv., 
behind, from behind, at the back : see 6e- 2 and 
/n'nd 3 .] I. adv. 1. At the back of some person 
or thing ; in the rear : opposed to before. 
So rmm'st thou after that which flies from thee, 
Whilst I thy babe chase thee afar behind. 
>'/./,., Sonnets, cxliii. 
2. Toward the back part ; backward : as, to 
look behind. 
She that could think, and ne'er disclose her mind, 
See suitors following, and not look behind. 
Shak., Othello, ii. 1. 
Worse things, unheard, unseen, remain behind. 
Shelley, Prometheus Unbound, i. 1. 
3. Out of sight; not produced or exhibited to 
view ; in abeyance or reserve. 
And fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of 
Christ in my flesh. Col. i. 24. 
We cannot be sure that there is no evidence behind. 
Locke. 
4. Remaining after some occurrence, action, 
or operation : as, he departed and left us be- 
hind. 
Thou shall live in this fair world behind. 
Shak., Hamlet, iii. 2. 
Where the bee can suck no honey, she leaves her sting 
behind. Beau, and Fl., Prol. to Knight of Burning Pestle. 
5. Past in the progress of time. 
Forgetting those things which are behimt. Phil. iii. 13. 
6. In arrear; behindhand: as, he is behind in 
his rent. 
So that ye come be.hitid in no gift. 1 Cor. i. 7. 
II. prep. 1. At the back or in the rear of, as 
regards either the actual or the assumed front: 
the opposite of before : as, the valet stood be- 
hind his master; crouching behind a tree. 
Behind yon hills where Lugar flows. 
Burns, My Nannie, O. 
A tall Brabanter behind whom I stood. 
Bp. Hall, Account of Himself. 
The lion walk'd along 
Behind some hedge. 
Shak., Venus and Adonis, 1. 1094. 
2. Figuratively, in a position or at a point not 
so far advanced as ; in the rear of, as regards 
progress, knowledge, development, etc.; not on 
an equality with: as, behind the age; he is 
behind the others in mathematics. 
For I suppose I was not a whit behiml the very chiefest 
apostles. 2 Cor. xi. 5. 
In my devotion to the Union I hope I am behind no man 
In the nation. Lincoln, in Raymond, p. 99. 
3. In existence or remaining after the removal 
or disappearance of : as, he left a large family 
behind him. 
What he gave me to publish was but a small part of 
what he left behind him. Pope. 
Behind one's back. See baeti. Behind the curtain. 
See curtain. Behind the scenes. See scene. Behind 
the times, not well informed as to current events ; hold- 
ing to older ideas and ways. Behind time, later than 
the proper or appointed time in doing anything. = Syn. Be- 
hind, After. Behind relates primarily to position ; after, 
to time. When after notes position, it is less close or ex- 
act than behind, and it means position in motion. To say 
that men stood one after another In a line was once cor- 
rect (see Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 901, "kneeled . . . 
each after other"), but is not so now. They may come one 
after another, that is, somewhat irregularly and apart; 
they came one behiml another, that is, close together, 
one covering another. The distinction is similar to that 
between beneath and below. 
Out bounced a splendidly spotted creature of the cat 
kind. Immediately behind him crept out his mate ; and 
there they stood. 7". Robinmn, Under the Sun, p. 144. 
On him they laid the cross, that he might tear it .</., 
Jesus. Luke xxiii. 2(i. 
behindhand (be-hind'hand), prep. phr. as adr. 
or a. [< behind + hand; cf. beforehand.'} 1. 
In the rear ; in a backward state ; not sufficient- 
beholding 
ly advanced; not equally advanced with smnr 
other person or tiling: a.*,l>cl<iii<liit>ii<l\i\ studies 
or work. 
And these thy ottlces, 
HD rarely kind, are as intei-pi- 
Of my h<'lti<xl-luni>l ^laekne^s. 
Mult.. W. T., v. 1. 
l'|i. and all tile morning within doors, beuinninu ' 
my aeeounts in order from before this tire, I heiny '< /n,l 
liiiinl with them ever since. I'''!".!*, Iliary, II. 4su. 
Nothing can exeeed the evils of this spring. All ugri- 
cultural operations are at least a month lx'liin<tlinint. 
Sydney Slnilh, To Lady Ilnlland. 
2. Lato; delayed beyond the proper time; be- 
hind the time set or expected. 
(iovei-niuent expeditions are generally . 
c ..... /,,!/ Mtiii., March, Isiy. 
3. In a state in which expenditure has gone 
beyond income ; in a state in which means are 
not adequate to the supply of wants ; in an ear : 
as, to be bt/liiiidhnml in one's ein-umstanees ; 
you are behindhand with your payments. 
Having run something V7'//;<//""/ in the world. In- nh- 
tained the favour of a ei-rtain lord to receive him into his 
house. *"'{!'', Tale of a Tub, ii. 
4. Underhand; secret; clandestine. [Rare.] 
Those Miiiiillinnil and paltry nmna-uvres \iliidi destroy 
confidence between human beings and degrade the char- 
acter of the statesman and the man. 
Lecky, Eng. In ISth Cent., xv. 
behithert (be-hiTH'er), prep. [< 6c-2 as in be- 
yond, behind, 'etc., + hither.] On this side of. 
Two miles behither Clifden. 
Eeeltjn, Diary, July 23, 1871). 
behold (be-hold'), v. ; pret. and pp. beheld, ppr. 
beholding. [< ME. beholden, biholdan, bihalden, 
hold, bind by obligation (in this sense only in 
pp. beholden, behokle: see beholden), commonly 
observe, see, < AS. behealdan, hold, keep, ob- 
serve, see (= OS. bihaldan = OFries. bihalda 
= D. behouden = OHG. bihaltan, MHG. G. be- 
halten, keep), < be- + healdan, hold, keep : see 
be- 1 and hold 1 . Other words combining the 
senses ' keep ' and ' look at ' are observe and 
regard.'} I. trails. If. To hold by; keep; re- 
tain. 2f. To hold; keep; observe (a com- 
mand). 3. To hold in view; fix the eyes 
upon ; look at ; see with attention ; observe 
with care. 
When he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. 
Num. xxi. 9. 
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of 
the world. John i. 29. 
= Syn. Observe, Witness, etc. (see see); look upon, con- 
sider, eye, view, survey, contemplate, regard. 
H. intrans. 1. To look; direct the eyes to 
an object; view; see: in a physical sense. 
Virginius gan upon the cherl brholile. 
Chaucer, Doctor's Tale, 1. 191. 
And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne . . . 
stood a Lamb as it had been slain. Rev. v. . 
2. To fix the attention upon an object; at- 
tend: direct or fix the mind : in this sense used 
chiefly in the imperative, being frequently little 
more than an exclamation calling attention, or 
expressive of wonder, admiration, and the like. 
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Rev. iii. 20. 
Prithee, see there ! behold .' look ! lo ! 
Shak., Macbeth, iii. 4. 
3f. To feel obliged or bound. 
For who would behold to geue counsel!, if in counselling 
there should te any perill ? 
J. Brende, tr. of Quintus Curtius, iii. 
beholden (be-hol'dn), p. a. [Formerly often 
erroneously "beholding; < ME. beholden, beholde, 
prop. ppr. of behold, t\] Obliged; bound in 
gratitude ; indebted ; held by obligation. 
Little are we beholden to your love. 
Shak., Rich. II., iv. 1. 
We had classics of our own, without being beholden to 
" insolent Greece or haughty Rome." 
Lamb, Christ's Hospital. 
beholder (be-hol'der), n. [< ME. beholder, 
biholder, -trc ; < behold + -*!.] One who be- 
holds ; a spectator ; one who looks upon or 
sees. 
Was this the face 
That like the sun, did make beholden wink? 
Shak., Rich. II., iv. 1. 
beholding 1 (be-hol'ding), n, [< ME. behold- 
ynge, bihaldunge ; < beholden, behold.] The act 
of 'looking at; gaze; view; sight. 
The revenges we are bound to take upon your traitor- 
ous father are not fit for your beholding. 
Shak., Lear, iii. 7. 
beholding' 2 ! (be-hol'ding), a. [Corrupt form of 
beholden.] 1 . Under obligation ; obliged. 
The stage is more beholding to love than the life of man. 
Bacon, Love. 
