needy

Pronunciation

• /ˈniːdi/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English nedi, also neodi,^[2][3] inherited from Old English nēdiġ,^[4] from Proto-Germanic *naudigaz (“forced, compelled”),^[4][5] formed from the Germanic base of need and that of the suffix -y.^[6] Most dictionaries simply derive the Middle English word from nede (“need”) and -y,^[2][7][8][3] but the OED records an Old English use as well.^[6] It is cognate with or formed like Middle Dutch nodich (“in need, poor”) (now Dutch nodig (“necessary”)), Old High German nōtag (“compelled, suffering want”) (now German nötig (“necessary”)) and Old Norse nauðigr (“forced, unwilling”).^[6][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Needful, necessary: this sense is recorded in Old English glosses on Aldhelm and lasted until 1609.^[6] The noun, a poor person, is found before 1225, in an Old English homily collection.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The modern sense "poor, destitute, lacking necessities" is recorded from about 1325, in the Chronicle of Robert of Gloucester,^[6] about 1300 in Etymonline;^[3] the Middle English Dictionary also has nedi of, in need of help, food or clothing, and the figurative use.^[2] Chaucer used nedy eleven times.^[9] From the 15th century it also meant "under an obligation to do something", a rare sense that died out,^[6] and since 1574 it described circumstances marked by poverty.^[6] The OED's sense includes spiritual and emotional needs,^[6] and modern dictionaries record "wanting affection, attention or reassurance", often too much of it.^[7][10][11] Johnson (1755) defined it as "poor; necessitous; distressed by poverty".^[12] In 19th-century British slang a needy was a tramp or a nightly lodger.^[13]

Timeline

• Old English – needful, necessary (obsolete by 1609).^[6]
• before 1225 – noun, a poor person; the poor.^[6]
• c. 1325 – of a person, poor, destitute.^[6]
• before 1425 – in need of something.^[6]
• 1574 – of circumstances, marked by poverty.^[6]
• 1861 – British slang noun, a tramp or nightly lodger.^[13]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Lacking money or the necessities of life; poor: needy households.^[7][10][11]
2. Wanting affection, attention or reassurance, often excessively: a needy puppy that follows her everywhere.^[7][10][11]

Noun

1. the needy: poor people as a group.^[7][11][6]

Word family

• neediness
• needily
• unneedy

Related words

• need
• needful
• needs

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
5. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
10. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
11. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
13. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com