Etymologically
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necessitudo

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [nɛ.kɛs.sɪˈtuː.doː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ne.t͡ʃes.siˈtuː.do][1]

Forms

necessitūdō f (genitive necessitūdinis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from necesse “necessary” with the suffix -tūdō.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is the historian Sempronius Asellio, about 100 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

It was a bond between persons, an obligation, connection, close relationship, as in Cicero; a person bound by such ties, a relative or friend, as in Seneca; compulsion, constraint, as in Varro; and want, need, and what is required, as in Sallust.[2][4] Lewis & Short note that in Cicero it is rarer than necessitās in the sense necessity.[5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it was necessity, inevitableness.[6] British Medieval Latin used it for a bond of obligation, friendship or kinship.[7] It survives in Spanish necesitud.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 100 BC – Asellio uses it.[3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a bond between persons.[2][3]
  • 86–34 BC – Sallust uses it of need.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A bond, close connection, kinship.[2]
  2. A relative, close friend.[2]
  3. Compulsion; need, want.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press