Behappen

adv, verb

adv, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To happen to, to befall. obsolete, transitive

    ""But why have ye," said Artegall, "forborne Your owne good shield in daungerous dismay? That is the greatest shame and foulest scorne, Which unto any knight behappen may. To loose the badge that should his deedes display.""

Adverb
  1. 1
    Perhaps, mayhap. dialectal, not-comparable, obsolete

    "Behappen it ul rain."

Example

More examples

""But why have ye," said Artegall, "forborne Your owne good shield in daungerous dismay? That is the greatest shame and foulest scorne, Which unto any knight behappen may. To loose the badge that should his deedes display.""

Etymology

From Middle English behappenen, equivalent to be- + happen, analogous to befall.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.