Etymologically
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necessitas

Etymology and origin of the Latin word necessitas

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (necesse)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [nɛˈkɛs.sɪ.taːs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [neˈt͡ʃɛs.si.tas][1]

Forms

necessitās f (genitive necessitātis); third declension[1] Genitive plural necessitātium in Caesar, Livy and Suetonius.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from necesse “unavoidable, necessary” with the suffix -tās.[2][1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of constraint by circumstances.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It was the quality of being indispensable, need; necessity inherent in the nature of things, fate, inevitability, as in Cicero's fātālis necessitās for the Greek ⟨heimarménē⟩; constraint by circumstances, compulsion, as in Plautus; difficulty, straits, as in Livy; want, poverty; requirements, demands; an act done under compulsion; and in Caesar a bond between persons, like necessitūdō.[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it was want, need, poverty, necessity, distress.[7] Medieval Latin used it for needs and coercion.[8] English necessity (late 14th century, “constraining power of circumstances”) came through Old French necessite.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of fate and need.[2][5]
  • late 14th century – English necessity is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Necessity, need.[2]
  2. Inevitability, fate.[2]
  3. Compulsion, constraint.[2]
  4. Straits; want, poverty.[2]
  5. A bond, obligation (between persons).[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Necessitas.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/necessitas. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·