notwendig German · revision 35266

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=early 16th century}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈnoːtˌvɛndɪç/, /ˈnoːtˌvɛndɪk/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''notwendig''' (strong nominative masculine singular notwendiger, comparative notwendiger, superlative am notwendigsten)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound of [[Not]] “distress, need” and the verb [[wenden]] “to turn, avert”, first meaning “averting distress”: a word for measures that ward off a need and are therefore indispensable.^(Kluge 2011|660)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002) Wiktionary analyses it as Not and the adjective [[wendig]].^(Wiktionary) Pfeifer records beside it an older meaning “urgent, forced by need”, properly “brought about by need”.^(Pfeifer 1993)

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+ The noun is [[gmh|nōt]], [[goh|nōt]], from [[gem-pro|*naudiz|t=need, compulsion]], found also in [[osx|nōd]], [[ang|nīed]], [[non|nauð]] and [[nl|nood]], whence English [[m|en|need]].^(Pfeifer 1993) Pfeifer explains it as an abstract noun with a /t/ suffix, like [[m|prg|nautin|t=need]], from a root [[ine-pro|*nāu-|t=death, corpse; to exhaust]] that may also lie behind [[ru|нужда|tr=nuždá|t=want, poverty]].^(Pfeifer 1993)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ ''Notwendig'' is recorded from the beginning of the 16th century, first in the sense “averting need”; about 1526 it is found in the sense of [[nötig]] “needed”.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the 16th century ''notwendig'' spread at the expense of the older ''nötig'', which goes back to Old High German ''nōtag'' “in distress”; since the end of the 19th century ''notwendig'' is often preferred for tasks and errands.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993) The sense “lying in the nature of things, inevitable”, as in ''eine notwendige Folge'', came in the 18th century, and the philosophical use goes back to Christian Wolff in 1723.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002) ''Notwendigkeit'' is recorded from the 16th century; in the 17th and 18th it could also mean a necessary thing, often in the plural.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)

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+ Like ''nötig haben'', ''notwendig haben'' could take a genitive, as in Pestalozzi; the phrase ''ein notwendiges Übel'' “a necessary evil” is very common.^(Paul 2002)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 16th century – ''notwendig'' is first recorded.^(Paul 2002)^(Kluge 2011|660)

+ * c. 1526 – It is used in the sense “needed, required”.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 16th century – ''Notwendigkeit'' is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1723 – Christian Wolff uses the word in philosophy.^(Paul 2002)

+ * 18th century – The sense “inevitable, following from the nature of things” appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|necessary]], [[m|en|essential]], indispensable: ''Für die Reise sind gültige Papiere notwendig.'' As a noun: ''sich auf das Notwendigste beschränken''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(adverb)'' Absolutely, by all means: ''Wir brauchen notwendig einen Klempner.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # [[m|en|inevitable]], following from the nature of things: ''eine notwendige Konsequenz''.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Notwendigkeit]]

+ * [[notwendigerweise]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Not]]

+ * [[nötig]]

+ * [[wenden]]

+ * [[Notdurft]]

+ * [[en|need]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}