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necessarius

Etymology and origin of the Latin word necessarius

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (necesse)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin necessarius
English necessary

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [nɛ.kɛsˈsaː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ne.t͡ʃesˈsaː.ri.us][1]

Forms

necessārius (feminine necessāria, neuter necessārium, comparative necessarior, superlative necessarissimus, adverb necessāriē or necessāriō); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin necesse (“unavoidable, necessary”) + -ārius.[2][1][3] Wiktionary analyses necesse as ne- “not” and cessus.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source for the noun is Cicero (81–43 BC).[4] Varro speaks of crops and necessary things.[2]

Semantic evolution

It meant essential, necessary, as Varro's “fruits and necessaries”, and essential for life, as Caesar's great shortage of necessities.[2] It meant compelling, as Cicero's many weighty and compelling reasons, critical, of times, and unavoidable, as Cicero's necessaria mors, natural death.[2][5]

Of persons it meant connected by close ties, and as a noun a relative, friend or patron, as Cicero's man who spared his friend and connection.[2] In medieval Latin necessarium or necessaria loca was a privy.[6] English necessary was borrowed in the late 14th century.[7]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of necessary things.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of compelling reasons and of close connections.[2][4]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of necessities of life.[2][4]
  • late 14th century – English necessary is borrowed.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Necessary, essential, requisite.[2][1]
  2. Essential for life.[2]
  3. Compelling.[2]
  4. Critical (of times).[2]
  5. Unavoidable, inevitable.[2][1]
  6. Closely connected (by friendship or kinship).[2][1]

Noun

  1. A relative, friend, patron, a connection.[2][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin, neuter) A privy.[6]

Word family

  • necessāria
  • pernecessārius
  • necessāriē
  • necessarium
  • necessitās
  • necessitūdō
  • necesse
  • English necessary

Usage notes

Döderlein says a necessarius is anyone bound to one by a lasting tie, official or private, while a propinquus is bound by family.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Necessarius.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/necessarius. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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