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requirement

Etymology and origin of the English word requirement

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1530

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɹɪˈkwʌɪəm(ə)nt/ (UK); /ɹɪˈkwaɪɹmənt/, /ɹɪˈkwɑɹmənt/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from require and -ment.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A request or requisition: 1530 in the OED, the 1520s in Etymonline, a sense now obsolete.[4][2][3]

Semantic evolution

The thing required or needed, a want or need, is from 1662, the 1660s in Etymonline;[4][2][5] a condition that must be met is by 1841.[2][4] Fowler, quoted by Etymonline, says that requirement properly means a need and requisite a needed thing, though the distinction is often ignored.[2]

Timeline

  • 1530 – a request (obsolete).[4]
  • 1662 – a need.[4][5]
  • 1841 – a necessary condition.[2][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Something needed or wanted; a necessity.
  2. Something that must be done or had; a necessary condition or prerequisite.

Word family

  • nonrequirement
  • prerequirement

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry

“Requirement.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/requirement. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·