An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/entbehren
entbehren, vb., from MidHG. enbërn, OHG. (int-?) in-bëran, ‘to do without, want’; a corresponding vb. is wanting in the OTeut. dialects. The meaning of OHG. in-bëran can hardly be deduced from bëran, ‘to carry’ (see Bahre, gebaren, Bürde); whether it is connected with baar, OSlov. bosŭ, from an Aryan root bhes, ‘to be empty,’ remains uncertain, because the prefix has no very definite meaning, and because no other verb from this root has been found.