'befit' originates from Old English, specifically the verb 'befitan' (or related Middle English forms), where the prefix 'be-' meant 'about/around' (used to form verbs) and the root 'fit' meant 'suitable, proper'.

'befit' changed from Old English 'befitan' into Middle English forms such as 'befit(n)' or 'befitten' and eventually became the modern English verb 'befit'.

Initially it carried the sense 'to make suitable' or 'to be suitable'; over time it stabilized into the modern sense 'to be appropriate or proper for'.