Etymograph

English

misbehave

Misbehave comes from Middle English misbehaven, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *keh₂p-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keh₂p-1root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500misbehaven1
  3. Englishtodaymisbehave1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English misbehave

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keh₂p-Wiktionary, English misbehaveroot named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500misbehavenWiktionary, English misbehave
  3. EnglishtodaymisbehaveWiktionary, English misbehave

Formed from mis- + behave

Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘to change’

Proto-Indo-European *mitˢtós ‘mutual, reciprocal’

Proto-Germanic *missa- ‘wrongly, badly, mis-’

Proto-West Germanic *missa- ‘mis-, wrongly’

English mis-

Middle English behaven

English behave

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *keh₂p-

princess, principal, receiver, receipt, unacceptable, receptor, participant, incapable, inception, interception, princely, perceptive, recuperate, recuperation, occupier, incipient, 9 more

Today it means

verb To act or behave in an inappropriate, improper, incorrect, or unexpected manner.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “misbehave”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *keh₂p- / misbehave

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