necessityn.
/nᵻˈsɛsᵻti/, U.S. /nəˈsɛsədi/ I. Constraint or determination by some external force; an instance of this.† 3. † 5. † 7. A bond or tie between persons. Cf. necessary adj. 5. Obsolete. rare.
1.
a. The constraining power of circumstances; a condition or state of things which forces a certain course of action.Sometimes with implication of sense 9.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > [noun] > necessity of circumstances
necessitya1382
fine forcec1400
constraint1607
necessity1629
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Wisd. xix. 4 Þer ladde þem to þat ende worþi necessite, & of þese thingis þat hadde fallen, þe mynde þei lasten.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 2141 To helpe..his oghne lond Behoveth every man his hond To sette upon necessite.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 155 Bot gif necessitee constreynit to geve bataill on haly day.
1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Av v Compelled by necessyte to seche helpe & socoure in theyr cause.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cviij Necessitie requyred to make all the power againste hym that myght be gathered.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 218 I would rather admit (if necessitie require) any figurative speech.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xxi. 118 Every one pities him, as acting by Necessity and Constraint.
1735 Visct. Bolingbroke Diss. upon Parties (ed. 2) 100 Necessity and Self-Preservation are the great Laws of Nature.
1781 E. Burke Corr. (1844) II. 423 I know the rigour of political necessity; but I see here, as little of necessity..as of propriety.
1824 J. Mackintosh Speech in Commons in Wks. (1846) III. 407 Its introduction can be justified only by necessity; its continuance requires precisely the same justification of necessity.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 495 If a ship be compelled by necessity to change the order of the places to which she is insured.
1938 Amer. Home June 17/1 Necessity forces taking children on train trips more often than by any other means except motoring.
1987 Q Oct. 71/1 Necessity kept the machines small, and the infant technology limited the output to around a couple a watts per channel.
2000 White Dwarf May 17/1 I don't normally do that much conversion work on my miniatures except where necessity demands.
b. work (also duty) of necessity: something which cannot possibly or naturally be left undone; spec. (in law relating to Sunday observance) an important or essential task which, in contrast with others, may be performed on a Sunday.Cf. work of mercy at mercy n. 1e.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > [noun] > a duty or moral necessity
needOE
deedc1400
necessitya1500
office1534
work (also duty) of necessitya1602
incumbency?1608
remorsea1616
incumbence1684
call1704
commitment1837
calling1857
geis1965
a1602 W. Perkins Whole Treat. Cases of Conscience (1606) ii. xvi. 458 Workes..of present necessitie..such, as cannot be done before or after the Sabboth.
1632 J. Weemes Expos. Morall Law 237 Workes of necessity may be done that day.
1647 Conf. Faith Assemb. Div. Westm. (1650) xxi. 46 In the duties of necessity, and mercy.
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Expos. Thirty-nine Articles (1850) 179 We must not rest on the sabbath-day, if a work of necessity or charity calls us to put to our hands.
1782 J. Brown Compend. View Nat. & Revealed Relig. 536 The whole day, except so much as is necessary for workes of necessity and mercy, is to be spent in the public and private exercises of God's worship.
1824 W. Scott Redgauntlet II. xii. 290 [Trumbull loq.] A work of necessity and mercy.
1876 Presbyterian Q. & Princeton Rev. Jan. 143 The involuntary work of a slave on the Sabbath may, perhaps, be considered a work of necessity.
1953 Stroud's Judicial Dict. (ed. 3) III. 1877 Baking rolls on a Sunday is not a ‘work of necessity’ within the exception in S.1, Sunday Observance Act, 1677..; but baking dinners for customers is.
1999 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) (Nexis) 21 May b1 Jacobi's response says ‘it was only his judicial duty of necessity’ that led him to issue the order blocking Witten's removal.
2. Constraint or compulsion having its basis in the natural order or constitution of things, esp. such constraint conceived as a law prevailing throughout the material universe and within the sphere of human action; (Philosophy) natural compulsion admitting of no influence by the human will.Also with defining word, as absolute, conditional, logical, moral, natural, philosophical, physical, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > [noun] > natural necessity
naturec1390
necessityc1390
c1390 G. Chaucer Nun's Priest's Tale 4435 Nedely clepe I symple necessitee..Or of his wityng streyneth neuer a del But by necessitee condicionel, I wol nat han to do of swich matere.
?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iv. pr. vi. 402 He chasith out alle yvel fro the boundes of his comynalite by the ordre of necessite destinable.
c1500 (?a1437) Kingis Quair (1939) cxlvi So that the diuersitee Off thaire wirking suld cause necessitee.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. ix. 150 Of the necessitie that is conditionall, and not of the necessitie that is absolute as they terme it.
1620 T. Granger Syntagma Logicum 36 Euen God effecting by absolute necessitie [etc.].
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 528 He..ordaind thy will By nature free, not over-rul'd by Fate Inextricable, or strict necessity . View more context for this quotation
1697 tr. F. Burgersdijck Monitio Logica i. 60 By natural necessity we understand not only that by which inanimate things act, as plants [etc.].
a1740 D. Waterland Diss. Argument A Priori in Wks. (1823) IV. 432 Connection of mental or verbal propositions..makes up the idea of logical necessity. Connection of end and means makes up the idea of moral necessity. Connection of causes and effects is physical..necessity.
1777 J. Priestley Doctr. Philos. Necessity Pref. 26 Mr. Hobbes was the first who understood..the proper doctrine of philosophical necessity.
1798 T. R. Malthus Ess. Princ. Population i. 15 Necessity, that imperious all pervading law of nature.
1840 Penny Cycl. XVI. 127/2 Physical necessity has its origin in the established order and laws of the material universe.
1870 H. Spencer First Princ. (rev. ed.) ii. iv. §53. 174 The consciousness of logical necessity.
1884 F. Temple Relations Relig. & Sci. (1885) iii. 84 When we turn from abstract arguments to facts, the doctrine of necessity is unquestionably unproven.
1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover iv. 41 It's a natural necessity for a plucked apple to go bad.
1956 E. L. Mascall Christian Theol. & Nat. Sci. iii. 92 Emanationism, according to which the existence of the universe follows with physical necessity from the existence of God.
1993 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 12 Aug. 23/2 Recently, he argued..that the United States and the UN must now engage in ‘altruistic colonialism’, intervening around the globe, whenever moral necessity demands.
2000 J. Caughie Television Drama v. 143 The narrative..moving from scene to scene..without causal connectives or logical necessity.
a. The fact of being inevitably fixed or determined. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > [noun]
fine forcea1375
necessitya1425
a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) iv. 1012 Wheither that the prescience of God is The certeyn cause of the necessite Of thynges that to comen ben.
1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer iii. f. cccliiv Lyberte of arbitrement, thorowe whiche yu beleuest many thinges to be without necessite.
1534 T. More Treat. Passion in Wks. 1286/1 Not onely the necessitye of temporal deathe.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 619 The necessitie of destinie cannot by any mans deuise, be eyther letted or interrupted.
1607 G. Chapman Bussy D'Ambois v. i. 63 Nature layes A deale of stuffe together, and by use Or by the meere necessity of matter Ends such a work, fills it, or leaves it empty Of strength, or vertue error, or cleare truth, Not knowing what she does.
1633 J. Fosbroke Solomons Charitie 1 in Six Serm. The memoriall and infallible necessity of death.
1659 R. Brathwait Panthalia 256 Thus has our condition, which formerly hath been a stranger to servile ends; or to what must now oblige us, beholdingness, injoyned us to submit to the necessity of Fate.
b. The constraining power of something. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > obedience > compulsion > [noun] > faculty, power, or quality of
coercion1523
necessity1529
strong arm?1548
coerciveness1727
coactivity1738
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iv, in Wks. (1557) 261/2 Those that wrechedly lai al the weyght and blame of our sinne to the necessite and constraynt of goddes ordinaunce.
1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1901) I. i. xvii. 93 Ȝit he could nocht brek be witt and engyne of man þe necessite and violence of fortoun.
4.
a. An imperative need for or †of something.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > need or want > [noun] > of something
misterc1300
indigence?14..
necessity?a1425
indigencya1620
requirance1662
?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 133v (MED) And it happen..þe wounde of þe liuer be grete, comunelie it is not cured after be cause of grete bledinge and be cause of nescescite of his operacioun in alle þe bodie.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 221 Ffor sik lordis and ambassadouris..had necessitee of hors and mulis.
1612 in R. S. Barclay Court Bk. Orkney & Shetland (1962) 19 Aug. Beggeris..urges the induelleris to give thame that hes na necessitie of the same.
1673 True Worship 27 If any argue..a necessity of a Sermon; he must..conclude [etc.].
1707 J. Freind Acct. Earl of Peterborow's Conduct in Spain 185 God be praised we are not in a Necessity of a Victory.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 170. ⁋10 He..compelled me to repose on him as my only support, and produced a necessity of private conversation.
1785 Liberal Amer. 2 99 She thinks there will be a necessity for it.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. viii. 678 The strongest necessity existed for rendering the resources of the country available to its defence.
1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth Lang. iii. 40 They were..recent additions to the language. The introduction of Christianity had created a necessity for them.
1917 C. E. Long tr. Jung Coll. Papers Analyt. Psychol. (ed. 2) xv. 453 The repression of the collective psyche..was a necessity for the development of the personality.
1962 E. Roosevelt Autobiogr. I. ii. 37 She used to impress on my mind the necessity for acquiring languages, primarily because of the enjoyment you missed in a country where you were both deaf and dumb.
1999 S. L. Kasfir Contemp. Afr. Art ii. 68 The necessity for artists to reach inside themselves for the source of their creativity.
b. An unavoidable compulsion or obligation of or to do something. (In later use merging with sense 8.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > [noun] > necessity of circumstances
necessitya1382
fine forcec1400
constraint1607
necessity1629
1629 W. Prynne Church of Englands Old Antithesis 83 Who haue a necessitie of sinning since his fall.
1686 tr. J. Chardin Trav. Persia 182 There was a necessity for us to let our Horses rest.
1727 D. Defoe Syst. Magick i. iv. 101 Bringing them to a Necessity of laying it aside, before they had carried it on too far.
1759 J. Wesley Primitive Physick (ed. 8) p. xxv Honest Men are under no Necessity of touching them.
1792 W. Cowper in Jrnl. Friends Hist. Soc. (1918) 35 I abhor the slave trade to such a degree, that even if the abolition of it were to leave them [sc. Africans] under the necessity of devouring each other..I had much rather that they should.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. v. 498 It was in such distress for want of provisions, as to find a necessity of applying to the Bengal Government for aid.
1851 N. Hawthorne Seven Gables xvii A continual quake through Clifford, causing him most to quiver,..and seemed almost under a necessity to skip in his gait.
1901 Daily Chron. 1 July 3/5 Their [i.e. Austrian painters] work suggests that as Secessionists, they have felt the necessity of doing something as no one has done it before.
1932 W. Faulkner Light in August xi. 221 It was as though each turn of dark saw him faced again with the necessity to despoil again that which he had already despoiled.
1961 H. MacLennan Rivers that made Nation in G. Lynch & D. Rampton Canad. Ess. (1991) 76 The strategic necessity of securing the St. Lawrence as a high-road into the Ohio Territory.
a. A piece of necessary business; a necessary act. Chiefly plural. Cf. need n.1 11. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > [noun] > a duty or moral necessity
needOE
deedc1400
necessitya1500
office1534
work (also duty) of necessitya1602
incumbency?1608
remorsea1616
incumbence1684
call1704
commitment1837
calling1857
geis1965
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 64 He toke leve, and yede thourgh the courte in his othir necessitees.
?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Uiv v In all her necessities and busenes.
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. i. 2 These should be houres for necessities, Not for delights. View more context for this quotation
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. J. Albert de Mandelslo 268 in Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors They never do their necessities, but they lay a stick cross a pit, upon which they sit for their greater ease.
1676 M. Hale Contempl. Moral & Divine (new ed.) 495 That is not a Necessity which may be forborn to be done..until the Morrow.
b. Necessary duty. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > [noun] > necessary duty
necessity1546
1546 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 17 In the sayde Church the necessitie is to pray and to ayde dyvyne service.
1546 in W. Page Certificates Chantries County of York (1895) II. 213 The necessitie thereof is to do dyvine servyce.
c. Something unavoidable. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > [noun] > inevitability > inevitable fact, event, etc.
necessity1600
necessary1818
inevitable1850
must-be1868
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 (2nd issue) iii. i. 87 Are these thinges then necessities, Then let vs meet them like necessities.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iv. 38 One of these two must be necessities, Which then will speake. View more context for this quotation
6. The fact of being indispensable; the indispensability of some act or thing.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > [noun]
needOE
needfulnessa1400
necess?a1525
necessariness1552
requisiteness1566
necessitya1572
essence1605
essentialness1640
essentiality1646
necessitation1648
requirement1659
need-be1728
indispensability1793
indispensableness1833
indispensibleness1860
egence1865
requiredness1935
a1572 J. Knox Hist. Reformation Scotl. in Wks. (1848) II. 127 The one is rather a pompe and gloriouse vane ceremonye than a substantiall point of necessitie requyred to a lauchfull parliament.
1582 S. Batman Vppon Bartholome, De Proprietatibus Rerum xi. vi. f. 166/2 For so great is the necessitye of Water, that without it, no liuing creature can lyue, no hearbe, nor Plant, without the moystening of water, can burgen or bud forth.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. l. 106 Vpon their force their necessitie dependeth.
1630 J. Shirley Gratefull Seruant iv. i. 52 Be but pleas'd to grant A little freedome to my speech, I shall Demonstrate the necessity of this Action.
1640 Whole Bk. Psalmes: ‘Bay Psalm Bk.’ (title page) Whereunto is prefixed a discourse declaring not only the lawfullnes, but also the necessity of the heavenly Ordinance of singing Scripture Psalmes in the Churches of God.
1707 J. Addison Present State War in Misc. Wks. (1766) III. 271 We see the necessity of an augmentation if we intend to bring the enemy to reason.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 170. ⁋9 I had seen mankind enough to know the necessity of outward cheerfulness.
1813 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) XI. 22 If you will point out to them the necessity of adopting some measures to subsist their armies.
1835 I. Taylor Spiritual Despotism iii. 66 Whatever may enhance our ideas of the necessity and sovereignty of divine grace.
1899 Motor-car World Oct. 10/1 The advantage of transmission by gearing is its positiveness, while its disadvantages are noise, cost of renewal when worn, and the necessity of using clutches.
1920 Flight 9 Sept. 978/2 Attention is drawn to the necessity of ensuring that the fitting and maintenance of safety belts and harness in aircraft is secure and functions properly.
1971 New Scientist 5 Aug. 335/1 This careful and scholarly investigation..stresses the necessity of close cooperation between paediatricians, neurologists, and psychologists.
2001 BOMB Winter 21/1 There are jokes in my work about the necessity of essentializing cultural identity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun] > that which connects or bond > a bond or tie between persons, etc.
ligament1426
ligation1598
ligature1627
tie1629
necessitya1639
attachment1930
a1639 J. Spottiswood Hist. Church Scotl. (1677) 411 The necessity between Prince and subject is reciproque.
II. That which is needed or required.
8.
a. An indispensable or necessary thing; something which one cannot do without.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > [noun] > that which is necessary
needc1230
necessityc1390
necessary?a1425
exigence1446
requisitec1487
exigency1588
exigents1588
sine qua non1602
essentiala1620
implement1632
indispensable1681
needful1681
simple1858
c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 376 If he flatere or blandise moore than hym oghte for any necessitee.
?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 252 (MED) It is ȝeuen to ȝou into ȝoure goostly mete by my diuyne dispensacioun for helpinge of ȝoure necessitees or nedis.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Siege & Conqueste Jerusalem (1893) clvi. 231 For to..bye theyr necessytees at the shippes.
a1513 J. Irland Meroure of Wyssdome (1926) I. 22 Gif and graunt ws oure necessiteis and waurdly sustinaunce to lif in this waurld.
1563 J. Shute First Groundes Archit. sig. Biii Many other necessities therunto belonging.
1656 in J. A. Clyde Hope's Major Practicks (1937) I. 69 That his majestie's neccessities be supplied by the readiest of quhatsomever dewties [etc.].
1799 E. Dubois Piece Family Biogr. I. 19 Sufficient for many things more than the necessities of life.
1842 M. R. Mitford in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) III. ix. 154 Trees and fresh air are necessities to my constitution.
1876 E. Mellor Priesthood ii. 65 That which rendered the gospel a necessity.
1938 D. Thomas Let. 28 Mar. (1987) 285 I hope to finish a long prose work soon,..—that is, if I can procure lodgings and buy necessities.
1952 E. Templeton Island of Desire ii. xvi. 142 To her..the objects of life were not divided into necessities and luxuries, because the question of money never entered into them at all.
2000 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 29 June 51/1 Reading became a necessity of life and a principal activity of nation-building.
b. As a mass noun (frequently with possessive adjective): what is necessarily required; necessaries, needs. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [noun]
waedlec888
wanspeedc893
wanea1100
wandrethc1175
miseasea1200
povertya1225
lowness?c1225
needc1225
orcostc1225
poorness?a1300
unwealtha1300
defaultc1300
porailc1325
straitnessa1340
poorhead1340
mischiefa1375
miseasetya1382
needinessa1382
misterc1385
indigencec1386
scarcitya1387
noughtc1400
scantnessc1400
necessity?1406
penurya1425
povertnessa1434
exilitya1439
wantc1450
scarcenessc1475
needinga1500
povertiesa1500
penurity?a1505
poortith?a1513
debility1525
tenuity1535
leanness1550
lack1555
Needham1577
inopy1581
pinching1587
dispurveyance1590
egency1600
macritude1623
penuriousness1630
indigency1631
needihood1648
necessitousness1650
egestuosity1656
straitened circumstancesa1766
unopulence1796
Queer Street1811
lowliness1834
breadlessness1860
unwealthiness1886
out-of-elbowness1890
secondary poverty1901
Short Street1920
the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > [noun] > that which is necessary > necessaries
necessarya1382
necessars1386
necessity?1406
mister1477
needment1590
implements1612
needfuls1614
vitals1657
essentiality1710
fundamentals1864
needcessities1874
?1406 T. Hoccleve La Mâle Règle 314 in E. P. Hammond Eng. Verse between Chaucer & Surrey (1927) 64/2 Whan the cuppe had thus my neede sped, And sumdel more than necessitee, With repleet spirit wente I to my bed.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 6740 Thanne may he begge til that he Have geten his necessite.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) vi. 29 His men fra him sua scalit war, Till purchess thame necessite.
a1500 (?a1450) Gesta Romanorum (BL Add. 9066) (1879) 424 Man was not made to so grete superfluyte, but to necessite of nature.
a1500 Partenay (Trin. Cambr.) 3818 (MED) Off me shall ye haue both ayde and comfort In all your nedes of necessite.
1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie xviii. 124 For as in the generall table, where euerie particular word is set down by order of the alphabete, we have regard to the first letter, and thereby serue our own necessitie in case and cause of serch.
a1614 J. Melville Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) 116 Wha skarslie haid to furnise his necessitie.
1650 T. Bayly Worcesters Apophthegmes 37 You have the prittiest peece of necessity yonder, at the side Table.
1675 W. Cunningham Diary (1887) 59 To my granduncle James, to be sent to Ireland, to my Uncle John for supplie of his necessity, 66. 13. 4.
1858 Harper's Mag. Apr. 584/1 I suggested that a dime would supply his necessity.
1902 W. James Varieties Relig. Experience xx God so planned the world that men and beasts should live upon it and find there everything required for their necessity and convenience.
III. Senses relating to want or deprivation.† 11. Want or lack of a thing. Obsolete.
9. † c. colloquial. Poor quality liquor or spirits; a makeshift alcoholic drink. Obsolete.
a. The condition of being in difficulties or straits, esp. through lack of means; want, poverty.
ΚΠ
c1390 G. Chaucer Melibeus 2760 A poore beggere..if he axe, he dyeth for shame, and algates necessitee constreyneth hym to axe.
?c1412 T. Hoccleve in E. P. Hammond Eng. Verse between Chaucer & Surrey (1927) 67 So me werreyeth coynes scarsetee, That ny Cousin is to necessitee.
?1518 A. Barclay Fyfte Eglog sig. Aiijv Wynter declareth, harde nede and pouerte Than men it feleth, whiche haue necessyte.
1550 M. Coverdale tr. O. Werdmueller Spyrytuall & Precyouse Pearle xi. sig. Fi Whan he was in extreme anguysh and necessyty, he made his humble prayer.
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear vii. 369 Necessities sharpe pinch. View more context for this quotation
1639 S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events 7 This came in good time to keepe this poore family from necessity.
1682 in D. M. Lyon Hist. Lodge Edinb. (1873) 29 Having tackin it to thare sereas considarashon the great nesetay of thar pour.
1728 J. Morgan Compl. Hist. Algiers I. ii. 231 As those People had a very indifferent Harvest, they underwent great Necessity.
1768 in Lett. Earl of Malmesbury (1870) I. 166 The people are labouring under the greatest necessity, garden-stuff and bread..being raised in price one third.
1886 T. Hardy Mayor of Casterbridge II. xiii. 172 Under some of the roofs abode pure and virtuous souls whose presence there was due to the iron hand of necessity.
1902 Publ. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 8 59 In a time of great necessity much retrenchment is wholly without method, though for a short time great reductions can be made.
1975 Q. Rev. Biol. 50 8/1 [Amongst wasps] the restriction of stealing to periods of necessity may raise K [sc. ratio of benefit to cost] sufficiently to make it advantageous for the robbed female to permit the robbery.
b. With possessive adjective or with the and modifying of-clause. Now rare.
ΚΠ
?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 333 (MED) My goodnesse..prouidiþ for þin nede and necessyte.
?c1510 tr. Newe Landes & People founde by Kynge of Portyngale sig. Dv We shall gyue theym gold and syluer to thyr necessite.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice i. iii. 154 You shall not seale to such a bond for me, Ile rather dwell in my necessitie . View more context for this quotation
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary ii. 153 The necessity of the Spanish forces already in Ireland being more then was expected.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xx. 106 They will not ask whether his necessity be a sufficient title.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 335 You shall not want a Supply in your Necessity; and as soon as my Son returns, you shall be fully satisfy'd.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones ix He knew the tacit consideration upon which all her favours were conferred; and as his necessity obliged him to accept them, so his honour..forced him to pay the price.
1860 N. Hawthorne Marble Faun I. v. 54 All of whom find such..saloons..as their necessity can pay for.
1897 Dict. National Biogr. XLIX. 311/2 This looks as if he were needy, unless the fact that in this same year..he had been robbed..can be held to account for his necessity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > types or qualities of intoxicating liquor > [noun] > inferior
swilling1545
pigwash1604
hogwash1610
tiffa1635
rag water1699
necessity1748
wash1819
bellywash1840
Hoochinoo1877
hooch1897
pink-eye1900
shypoo1901
King Kong1937
scrap iron1942
Montana gin1986
1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random I. xxxiii. 291 Each man was allowed three half quarterns of brandy or rum,..diluted with a certain quantity of his water,..this composition, was by the sailors not unaptly stiled Necessity.
1796 W. Marshall Rural Econ. W. Eng. I. 236 The liquor..is drank in a recent state, under the appropriate name of ‘necessity’.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. at Still-waters I too have often tasted ‘necessity’, as it was sometimes called.
10. A specific situation of hardship or difficulty; a pressing need or want. Frequently in plural. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > hardship
hardeOE
grief?c1225
nowcinc1225
sharpship?c1225
straitnessa1340
necessityc1390
hardlaikc1540
hardshipc1540
disage1607
rough1615
rigour1632
erumny1657
strait1837
sufferation1976
the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > need or want > [noun] > a need or requirement > urgent or pressing
necessityc1390
urgency1647
importance1740
demandc1790
stress1822
c1390 G. Chaucer Melibeus 3048 I prey yow that in this necessitee and in this nede ye caste yow to ouercome youre herte.
c1422 T. Hoccleve Tale of Jerelaus (Durh.) l. 535 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 159 Thow helpe me maist... If thow wilt so in this necessitee, Gold and siluer wole I thee yeue ynow.
a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 120 (MED) Seldom is founden a trusty frende þat is perseuerant in all þe necessites of his frende.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. Prol. f. iiii Comforte to suche as calle To the for helpe in eche necessyte.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. xviii. 51 b To succour and supply the instant necessities which might happen.
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. sig. ⁋4 Whereby all our necessities may be prouided for.
1667 J. Corbet Disc. Relig. Eng. 24 Many of them live in Necessities, and most of them upon the kindness of others.
1714 T. Hearne Ductor Historicus (ed. 3) I. iii. 410 He attended little to his Art, and wrought at it only so far as Necessities oblig'd him.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. i. viii. 135 Being out of my depth, I was not able to work. In this Necessity, I was forced to swim behind, and push the Boat forwards.
1796 S. T. Coleridge Relig. Musings in Poems Var. Subj. 155 Their keen necessities To ceaseless action goading human thought.
1876 J. B. Mozley Serm. preached Univ. of Oxf. xv. 297 We must aim at a habit of gratitude, which has no relation to present necessities.
1889 Dict. National Biogr. XVIII. 341/1 The alienation of the spoils of the church to the private uses of the nobility,..instead of their being applied to..meet the necessities of the poor.
1900 J. Conrad Lord Jim v. 42 There are times when a man must act as though life were equally sweet in any company... I shan't now pretend to pull a long face over my necessity.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > non-possession > [noun] > state of being devoid of something > lacking or being without something
missOE
tharningc1175
missinga1375
lacking1377
wantingc1390
necessitya1393
destitutiona1440
poverty?1440
misture1563
unprovidedness1606
unprovision1631
wantingness1643
carency1655
nudity1656
destituteness1818
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) Prol. 797 (MED) Such comun strif was hem betwene..So that the governance of lawe Was lost, and for necessite Of that thei stode in such degre Al only thurgh divisioun.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) 236 If it were forwered, she Wolde have ful gret necessite Of clothyng.
a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 114 For gret necessite wich the French kynge hade of goode for the defence of þat lande.
1558 in J. Strype Ann. Reformation (1824) I. App. iv. 396 By this means..her majesty's necessity of money may be..relieved.
a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) 83 The better course should be by planting of Garrisons about him, which whensoever he shall..be drawne out..for necessity of victuall, shall be alwayes ready to intercept his going or comming.
1641 in J. Rushworth Hist. Coll.: Third Pt. (1692) I. 281 For the relieving the present Necessity of Money, a Proportion of Plate should be melted for Coyn; and that the same shall be Trencher-Plate, and Dish-Plate.
1675 Earl of Essex Lett. (1770) 352 Several of the foot companies in Ireland are in great necessity of clothing.
1754 J. Shebbeare Marriage Act I. xxxiii. 214 You..are in Necessity of many Things.
Phrases
P1. of necessity.† b. Necessary; indispensable. Obsolete.
a. Necessarily; inevitably, unavoidably.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > [adverb]
needeOE
of (also for, on) needeOE
needseOE
needlingc1225
needs cost?a1300
needlingsc1300
needlya1350
of necessityc1390
needfullya1398
necessarily?a1400
needgatesa1400
needingsa1400
needwaysa1400
needslyc1425
perforcec1425
needilyc1475
needwayc1480
of (or on) force?1507
need-forcea1525
requisitely1565
of very force1587
necessitously1637
necessitively1647
par force1819
imperatively1833
necessitatedly1864
of perforce1897
c1390 G. Chaucer Nun's Priest's Tale 4182 They ne founde as muche as a cotage In which they bothe myghte ylogged be; Wherfore they mosten of necessitee As for that nyght departen compaignye.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 1704 Of verray necessite The Philosophre him hath betake Fyf pointz.
c1475 in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1900) 104 308 The tyme approched of necessite To reherse the marterial sentence.
a1500 (a1450) Generides (Trin. Cambr.) 2552 Ther men almost distressed everychone, And many slayne, thenne of necessite They them withdrewe.
1526 Pylgrimage of Perfection (de Worde) f. 13 We must all dye of necessite for original synne.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iv. f. 168 At such time as the ground is couered with Snowe,..you must of necessitie helpe them with a little meate.
1611 Bible (King James) Luke xxiii. 17 Of necessitie hee must release one vnto them at the Feast. View more context for this quotation
1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ iii. iv. §5 For supposing a production of the world, several things must of necessity be supposed in it.
1759 E. Burke Philos. Enq. Sublime & Beautiful (ed. 2) Introd. 17 A little attention will convince us that this must of necessity be the case.
1814 H. F. Cary tr. Dante Vision III. iv. 10 Of necessity It happen'd.
1866 J. F. W. Herschel Familiar Lect. Sci. Subj. 209 Those [stars] to which every observer of necessity resorts to test the stability of his instruments.
1933 Discovery Aug. 257/1 Full-scale experiments in flight are of necessity difficult and take a long time.
1961 Listener 30 Mar. 573/3 Advertising has, of necessity, to use simple, forceful, easily understandable words.
1990 Banking World Dec. 17/1 Employers will more actively beckon women into jobs and, of necessity, will offer better deals for part-timers and women ‘returners’.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > [adjective]
needfulOE
necessaryc1376
needfulc1390
necessairea1393
needfula1402
necessariousc1410
requisite1442
unlackablec1443
unsparablec1449
necessc1475
requise1477
needy1487
exigentc1508
of necessityc1515
essential1526
insacrificablea1603
peremptory1607
unspared1614
sine qua non1615
real1620
necessitous1637
needsomec1650
undispensable1658
vital1659
wanting1671
implemental1676
sine quo non1693
indispensable1696
indispensible1792
vital1822
unmissable1823
of the essence (of)1843
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) lviii. 202 It is of necessyte that ye goo to kynge Iuoryn..and pray hym to haue mercy of you.
1563 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 77 Mony thingis quhilkis ar..of na necessitie iniunit we [sic] to beleue.
1581 W. Fulke in A. Nowell et al. True Rep. Disput. E. Campion (1584) ii. M iij b It is not of necessitie by Christes commandement.
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Pp3 But yet is not of necessitie, that Cogitations bee expressed by the Medium of Wordes. View more context for this quotation
P2. Phrases and proverbs, as necessity has (also knows) no law, necessity is the mother of invention, etc. Cf. need n.1 10.to make (a) virtue of necessity: see virtue n. Phrases 2a.
ΚΠ
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) i. 176 (MED) Necessitee nath never halyday.
1531 W. Tyndale Answere Mores Dialoge f. ix But .ij. thinges are with out lawe, god and necessite.
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 18v Necessitie, the inuentor of all goodnesse (as all authours in a maner, doo saye)..inuented a shaft heed.
a1555 N. Ridley Pituous Lament. (1566) sig. Diiii The latter reason..includeth a necessitie which after the common sayinge hathe no lawe.
c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) iv. 1379 Signior Necessity, that hath no law.
1642 J. Howell Instr. Forreine Travell viii. 104 Necessity, which is the Mother of Wit.
1666 G. Torriano Proverbial Phrases 167/2 in Piazza Universale Necessity is the mother of invention.
1694 R. Franck Northern Mem. 44 Art imitates Nature, and Necessity is the Mother of Invention.
1758 J. Blake Plan Marine Syst. 60 Necessity has no law.
1791 E. Inchbald Simple Story I. Pref. p. iv The Muses..sent in their disguise Necessity, who, being the mother of Invention, gave me all mine.
1847 F. Marryat Children of New Forest II. iii. 60 Her father could not do otherwise. Necessity has no law.
1885 Times (Weekly ed.) 17 Apr. 9/1 Necessity is the mother of inventions.
1939 ‘D. Yates’ Gale Warning vi. 125 ‘“Don't speak to the man at the wheel” is a very good rule.’ ‘So,’ said I, ‘is “Necessity knows no law”.’
1967 F. J. Singer Epigrams at Large 43 If necessity is the mother of invention, then demand is the father of supply.
1981 M. G. Eberhart Family Affair xiii. 151 We can't let him go... Necessity knows no law.
2000 Wildlife News (BBONT) Jan. 19/1 Necessity is usually the mother of invention and the Trust's unique ‘Sponsor a Sheep’ scheme is no exception.
Compounds
necessity operator n. Logic a word or symbol signifying that the proposition to which it attaches is a necessary truth.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical truth > [noun] > other terms relating to
material equivalence1892
truth set1940
necessity operator1953
1953 Jrnl. Symbolic Logic 18 267 The definition of negation..is considered with regard to applications to the L-calculi, which also may include quantifiers, and also the modal necessity operator.
1995 Noûs 29 487 The first assumption is prefaced by a necessity operator, yielding the claim that it is necessarily true that all truths are ideally verifiable.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† necessityv.
Obsolete.
1. transitive. To bring into a state of need or necessity. With to.Apparently an isolated use.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > need or want > need [verb (transitive)] > have need of or to do
needa1398
misterc1450
necessitya1616
to be stuck up for1860
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) v. iii. 86 I bad her if her fortunes euer stoode Necessitied to helpe, that by this token I would releeue her. View more context for this quotation
2. transitive. To necessitate.Apparently an isolated use.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > necessity > necessitate [verb (transitive)]
necess?a1425
to call for ——1547
force1551
necessite1596
necessitate1601
oblige1638
necessiate1709
necessity1827
mean1841
1827 I. Taylor Transmission Anc. Bks. (1875) xii. 132 One climate..necessities a much greater degree of permanency in the habits of the people than another.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
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