Behight is a rare and archaic term that means "to promise" or "to pledge." The spelling of this word may seem unusual, but it follows the rules of English phonetics. The first syllable, "be," is pronounced as /bi/, and the second syllable, "height," is pronounced as /haɪt/. The combination of these two syllables creates the phonetic transcription of /bɪˈhaɪt/. While this word is not commonly used in modern English, it is still recognized and understood by some.
The word "behight" is derived from Middle English, specifically from the word "bihighten". It was formed by adding the prefix "be-" to the verb "highten". The verb "highten" comes from the Old English word "hatian", which means "to command" or "to promise". Over time, "bihighten" evolved into "behight", which retains a similar meaning of making a promise or undertaking an obligation. However, it is important to note that "behight" is now considered archaic and is rarely used in modern English.