English Online Dictionary. What means necessary? What does necessary mean?
English
Etymology
From Middle English necessarye, from Old French necessaire, from Latin necessārius (“unavoidable, inevitable, required”), variant of necesse (“unavoidable, inevitable”), probably from ne or non cessum, from the perfect passive participle of cēdō (“yield; avoid, withdraw”); see cede.
Older use as a noun in reference to an outhouse or lavatory under the influence of English and Latin necessārium, a medieval term for the place for monks’ “unavoidable” business, usually located behind or attached to monastic dormitories.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈnɛsəsɹi/, /ˈnɛsəˌsɛɹi/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈnɛsəˌsɛɹi/
- (nonstandard) IPA(key): /ˈnɛsəɹi/
Adjective
necessary (comparative necessarier or more necessary, superlative necessariest or most necessary)
- Required, essential, whether logically inescapable or needed in order to achieve a desired result or avoid some penalty.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:requisite
- Antonym: unnecessary
- Unavoidable, inevitable.
- Synonyms: inevitable, natural
- Antonyms: evitable, incidental, impossible
- (obsolete) Determined, involuntary: acting from compulsion rather than free will.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Noun
necessary (plural necessaries or necessarys)
- (chiefly UK, New England, archaic, euphemistic, usually with the definite article) A place to do the "necessary" business of urination and defecation: an outhouse or lavatory.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:bathroom
- (obsolete) Necessity.
Related terms
- necessary house; necessary place, necessary stool, necessary vault (obsolete)
References
- “necessary”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “necessary”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.