Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BE-HAVE', v.t. [G. gehaben; Sax. gehabban, and behabban; be and have.]

1. To restrain; to govern; to subdue. [The Saxon sense of the word.] He did behave his anger ere 'twas spent. – Shak. This sense is obsolete. Yet it often seems to be implied; for to behave one's self, is really to govern one's self; to have in command.
2. To carry; to conduct; used with the reciprocal pronoun; as, he behaves himself manfully. But the tendency of modern usage is to omit the pronoun; as, he behaves well.