necessario

Forms

necessario (feminine necessaria, masculine plural necessari, feminine plural necessarie)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin necessārius (“unavoidable; indispensable”), from necesse (“unavoidable, necessary”).^[2][3][4][1] The Latin adjective goes back to a noun *necessis, made of ne- (“not”) and a noun of action from cēdō (“to withdraw, give way”): the sense was “no withdrawing, no way back”.^[3][2][5] De Vaan reconstructs it as “no avoiding”, and connects the verb, with Lubotsky, with Proto-Indo-European *ḱiesdʰ- (“to drive away; to go away”).^[6] Devoto remarks that the idea of necessity thus grew out of that of immobility.^[7]

The same Latin word gave French nécessaire and Spanish necesario.^[3] In Late Latin it spread at the expense of utilis (“useful”) and habilis (“fit”).^[8] Latin already used the masculine as a noun for a close friend or relative, and Medieval Latin documents from Ravenna (616) and later from Modena and Verona use the neuter for a privy.^[9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is Guidotto da Bologna's treatise on rhetoric in the 13th century: an opening “must be brief, so that it says nothing that is not necessary” (acciò che non dica cosa che necessaria non sia).^[2][11] The noun “what is needed” follows in 1284.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Fra Giordano preached that faith is “the most necessary thing in the whole world”, and Boccaccio asks who does not know that fire is very useful, indeed necessary, to mortals.^[11][12] In philosophy the word came to mean what cannot not be, or cannot be otherwise, as against what is contingent.^[4][13]

Two noun senses are now obsolete.^[4][14] Jacopo Passavanti uses necessario for a privy, also called luogo necessario in the 15th century, and Florentine texts of the 14th to 16th centuries use it for a close relative, as Machiavelli does.^[12][10][4] In law it qualifies what a binding rule lays down, as in erede necessario, a compulsory heir.^[13][15]

Timeline

• 13th century – Guidotto da Bologna uses necessaria in his treatise on rhetoric.^[2]
• 1284 – The noun “what is needed” is recorded.^[2]
• Before 1294 – Necessità appears in Brunetto Latini.^[2]
• 1354 – Jacopo Passavanti uses necessario for a privy.^[12]
• 14th–16th centuries – Florentine texts use it for a close relative.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. necessary, indispensable: Per entrare è necessario il biglietto.^[4][13][15]
2. In impersonal phrases, followed by an infinitive or che: È necessario partire prima dell'alba.^[4][13][14]
3. (philosophy) That cannot not be, or cannot be otherwise.^[4][13][14]
4. (law) Laid down by a binding rule: erede necessario.^[13][15][14]

Noun

1. What is needed, the essentials: lo stretto necessario.^[4][13][5]
2. (obsolete) A close relative.^[4][14]
3. (obsolete) A privy, latrine.^[4][14]

Word family

• necessità
• necessitare
• necessariamente

Related words

• necesse
• cedere
• Latin necessarius

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 293
8. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2559
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2560
11. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 11, 291
12. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
13. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
14. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
15. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse