necessary English · revision 2687

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1340|origins=la necesse}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈnes.ə.sər.i/, US /ˈnes.ə.ser.i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|necessarie]],^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) [[bor|xno|necessarie]], Old French necessaire,^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) and directly [[bor|la|necessārius|t=unavoidable, indispensable]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|necesse|t=unavoidable, needful]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) originally “no backing away”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from ne- “not” and a form related to [[m|la|cēdō|t=I withdraw, yield]], the source of [[cede]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) The noun is from Latin necessāria, the neuter plural of the adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The noun, in the plural necessaris, “needs”: about 1340,^(Barnhart 1988) the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) The adjective, “needed, essential”, is from about 1380, in Chaucer's translation of Boethius,^(Barnhart 1988) and 1382 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The etymological sense is that from which there is no escape, the inevitable,^(Etymonline) and the adjective meant from the start also “such as must be, not governed by chance or free will”.^(Etymonline) Of servants, “rendering useful services”, it is from 1425.^(OED 1989) ''Necessary evil'' is from the 1540s, originally said of woman.^(Etymonline) A privy was a ''necessary house'' from the 1610s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and in dialect a ''necessary'' was a privy or water-closet.^(Wright 1898) In classical Latin the noun necessārius meant “a relative, friend, patron”.^(Etymonline) ''Necessitate'' is from 1628, replacing Middle English necesseden.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1340 – noun, needs.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1380 – adjective, essential.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1425 – of servants, useful.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1540s – ''necessary evil''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1610s – ''necessary house'', a privy.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1628 – ''necessitate''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1817 – ''necessary condition''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Needed in order to achieve a result; [[essential]] or required.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # That cannot be avoided; [[inevitable]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(logic)'' Logically certain; following from what is given.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''necessaries'': Things needed for life, such as food and shelter.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(dialect)'' A [[toilet]].^(Wright 1898)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[necessariness]]

+ * [[necessarian]]

+ * [[necessarily]]

+ * [[necessary condition]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[necessitate]]

+ * [[necessitude]]

+ * [[necessity]]

+ * [[unnecessary]]

+ * [[cede]]

+ * [[concede]]

+ * [[proceed]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}