▪ I. reˈquire, n. rare.
[f. the verb.]
Demand, requisition.
| 1502 Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) iv. xxvi. Ff j b, They be not bounde after the requyre of commaundement. 1611 H. Broughton (title) A Require of Agreement to the Groundes of Divinitie studie. 1843 E. Jones Poems, Sens. & Event (1879) 13 When suddenly, with intenser utterance, scream'd The music's wild require. |
▪ II. require, v.
(rɪˈkwaɪə(r))
Also 5 requer (Sc. ra-), requeere, 5–7 requere, Sc. requeir; 4–7 requyre, 6 reqwy(e)r, 7 reqire.
[a. OF. requer-, requier-, stem of requerre (mod.F. requérir) = Prov. requerre, -querer, -ir, Sp. requerir, Pg. requerer, It. richiedere:—L. requīrĕre, f. re- re- + quærĕre to seek, ask: see quere v. The form require may be directly from L.: cf. inquire.]
I. † 1. trans. To ask (one) a question; to inquire of (one) why, if, etc. Obs. rare.
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1056 For-þy, sir, þis enquest I require yow here, Þat ȝe me telle with trawþe [etc.]. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Matt. xx. 99 She..being required what she would, sayeth [etc.]. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 47 Thairfor he spak the mair scharplie in his cause and requyrit the cardinall quhy he keipit nocht promise into him. 1578–9 Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 76 He wes..required gif he wald retene the said charge. |
† b. To question (one) of something. Obs. rare—1.
| 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 527 How Culenus..requyrit the Kirkmen of the Takynis in the Sky, and of thair Ansuer. |
† 2. To ask or request (one) for something. Usu. const. of (rarely for). Obs.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints iii. (Andrew) 972 Þane sad scho: ‘lord, lat be! of sic thinge requere nocht me!’ c 1400 Rom. Rose 5233 He shulde not bide so long, til he Of his helpyng hym requere. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 7 He..sware to her that he wolde neuer requere her of no suche materes. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour F vij b, He..enhaunceth the meke and humble that requyreth hym of mercy. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xvi. 16 Sum is for gift sa lang requyrd. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ix. 7 Than y⊇ quene..required hym all wepyng of his good counsaile. 1583 T. Stocker Civ. Warres Low C. iii. 106 b, They had the night before, requyred the Leydens of certaine horsemen, to discouer the enemie. |
† b. With double obj. To ask (one) for (a thing); also, to request or command (one) to do (something). Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Wife's T. 1052 He plighte me his trouthe there, The firste thyng I wolde hym requere, He wolde it do. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode i. cxxxiii. (1869) 70 Wherto hast þou required me þe armures, whan þou..wolt not bere hem? 1573 L. Lloyd Marrow of Hist. (1653) 241 My son, said he, this I charge and require thee. |
† 3. To ask, request, or desire (one) to do something. With various constructions: a. With that (sometimes omitted). Obs.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xii. 263 Quharfor I ȝow requeir and pray, That..ȝhe pres ȝow at the begynnyng. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 196 b/1 Requyryng our lord with salte teris that..he wold delyuer them of this pestylence. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 26 b, He requireth them therefore that they woulde not deale after this sorte. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, ii. iv. 144 In humblest manner I require your Highnes, That it shall please you [etc.]. |
† b. With infinitive. Obs.
| 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. vi. (1555), First I the requere..Not to arrecte as to presumption [etc.]. 1470–85 Malory Arthur iii. xi. 112, I requyre the as thow arte a true knyght to gyue me my yefte. 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 83, I muste earnestly require you, to teach me some way [etc.]. 1600 E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 323 Being required by the kinsemen of the dead, to take it from thence. 1640–1 Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. (1855) 75 Gif they be not requyerit by you to come so prepared, the blame shall be imputed to you. |
† c. With imperative. Obs.
| c 1450 Merlin 74, I pray yow and requyre telle me of that ye knowe my herte desireth so. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxix. 32 Cum neir, And be nocht strange, I the requeir. c 1530 Pol., Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 41 Humbly also y you Requer,..Reffuse me nat oute of your Remembraunce. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lix. 205 Syrs, I requyre you arme you quyckely. 1584 Hudson Du Bartas' Judith iii. 84 Defend vs mighty Lord wee thee require. |
† d. With ellipse (usu. of the infin.). Obs.
| c 1400 Rule St. Benet 1053 Vs aw to ȝem our tong And spek not bot we be requerde. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 5 It is an higher..thinge forto praise and thanke God, thanne to requere hym. 1485 Caxton Paris & V. (1868) 35 Many tymes he had ben requyred of many noble prynces. 1561 T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer ii. (1577) K v b, The poore naked soule..that requireth hir with such passion & so instantly. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretary i. (1625) 66 Longer could I occupie my selfe to trauell in this action with you, but that I deeme it more then impertinent any further therein to require you. 1607 Shakes. Cor. ii. ii. 160 He wil require them, As if he did contemne what he requested, Should be in them to giue. 1611 Bible 2 Macc. vii. 10 When he was required, he put out his tongue. |
† e. To invite, call, summon to something. Obs.
| 1513 Douglas æneis xii. viii. 54 And hym allane,..He askis and requiris into melle. 1600 Hakluyt Voy. (1810) III. 233 Thus the poore king..being required thither to a banquet, was traiterously caryed away. 1665 J. Spencer Vulg. Proph. 59 If the inspired man required them to a faith of some Prediction or Doctrine. |
4. To demand of (one) to do something.
| 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 163 ¶13 It was his practice to impose tasks upon me, by requiring me to write upon such subjects. 1867 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1877) I. App. 662 The government required each county to find its quota of ships. 1882 J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. II. 11 The Judges were required to give their opinion. |
II. 5. a. To ask for (some thing or person) authoritatively or imperatively, or as a right; to demand, claim, insist on having.
| c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 336 Þe blood of just Abel shal be requyrid of Cayn. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) II. 97 Lestage, that is a thynge required [L. exacta] in feires. 1490 Caxton Eneydos viii. 34 [They] notefyden vnto the quene, how the sayd kyng had requyred her in maryage. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 28 b, Of all these benefytes..he wyll requyre streyte accountes. 1535 Coverdale Gen. xliii. 9, I wyll be suertye for him, of my handes shalt thou require him. 1581 Savile Tacitus, Hist. iii. x. (1591) 119 His death was now violently required. 1610 Shakes. Temp. v. i. 132, I..require My Dukedome of thee, which, perforce I know Thou must restore. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 529 Our voluntarie service he requires. a 1720 Sewel Hist. Quakers (1722) I. iii. 80 Oliver Cromwell..requir'd, both of the Soldiers and others, the Oath of Fidelity. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. II. ix. 347 The royal commissioners appeared at the Charterhouse to require the submission of the brethren. |
b. To ask for (something) as a favour; to beg, entreat, or request († of one). Now rare.
| c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 247 Thy feet embracyng..Mercy requeeryng, thus I wyl begynne. c 1477 Caxton Jason 12 b, Peleus promised to Jason that he sholde accomplisshe..al that he had required of him. 1542 Udall in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 7, I shall not require of your maistership any thing, but oonly that without which noo man can live. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iii. 12 Dame Una, weary Dame,..entrance did requere. 1655 Stanley Hist. Philos. i. (1701) 58/1 Being thirsty he required Water of one of his Scholars. 1697 Dryden æneid vii. 209 They go commission'd to require a Peace. 1788 Cowper New Year's Gift 10 What favour then not yet possessed Can I for thee require..? 1842 Tennyson Gardener's Dau. 224 Requiring at her hand the greatest gift, A woman's heart. |
c. intr. To make request or demand.
| 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. cxcv, To quham for me thou pitousely requere. 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas v. xii. (1558) 122 b, Mekely requiryng vnto Scipion To receyue them in thys mortall rage. 1556 in Ripon Ch. Acts (Surtees) 361 Also I will that myn executors reqwyer on sute for my twentie nobles. 1582 N. T. (Rhem.) Mark xv. 8 And when the multitude was come vp, they began to require [L. rogare] according as alwaies he did vnto them. 1734 Pope Ess. Man iv. 123 Shall burning ætna, if a sage requires, Forget to thunder, and recall her fires? 1819 Keats St. Agnes vi, They must..require Of Heaven with upward eyes for all that they desire. |
d. To ask or request to have, etc. Now rare (common 1550–1640).
| 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 233 When Achilles was slain, Aiax required to haue his harnesse and weapen. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 322 b, Thambassadors require [L. petunt] to have the conditions mitigated. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 68, I sadlye requyred, Too confer further. 1622 S. Ward Life of Faith (1627) 12 When hee should haue been tyed to the stake, he required to stand untyed. 1640 tr. Verdere's Rom. of Rom. ii. 123 He..was informed by his Squire, that a man..required to speak with him. 1821 Scott Kenilw. xiv, The Earl's chamberlain..informed Tressilian that his lord required to speak with him. |
6. To demand as necessary or essential on general principles, or in order to comply with or satisfy some regulation.
| 1415 Crowned King 37 A..subsidie..To be rered in the reaume as reson requyred. 1477 Sc. Acts Jas. III, parl. x. c. 73 That ilk heck of the said cruves be three inch wide, as the auld statute requiris. 1515 Barclay Egloges iv. c iv b, If thou wilt haue of mine Then right requireth that I haue part of thine. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 82 The kinges rode about the felde as honor of armes required. 1562 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 223 To wair thair lyfes as thair dewetie and detfull obedience requyris. 1682 Dryden Religio Laici 201 If the Gentiles, whom no law inspired, By nature did what was by law required [etc.]. 1708 J. C. Compl. Collier (1845) 51 All is for want of such Admeasurement as the Act required. 1770 Junius Lett. xxxviii. (1788) 204 The spirit of their present constitution requires that the king should be feared. 1847 Tennyson Princ. iv. 317 Public use required she should be known. |
b. To demand or call for as appropriate or suitable in the particular case; to need for some end or purpose. † required to, requisite for.
| c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 374 Whan that the cas required it, The commune profit koude she redresse. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. ii. 359 Their magnitude a larger lond requyreth. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 1 The condicyons requyred to a pilgrym that entendeth to go to the erthly Jerusalem. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 13 Howe can men discerne such vertues in him as be required in a mightye prynce? 1601 Shakes. All's Well iv. iii. 108 If the businesse bee of any difficulty,..it requires hast of your Lordship. 1668 Wilkins Real Char. Ep. Rdr., That great Industry, or Accurate judgment,..required to such a Work. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 123 Every one of these Towers..required an Army to take them. 1723 Chambers tr. Le Clerc's Treat. Archit. I. 2 A Computation of the expences of the Building, and of the time required to go through with it. 1759 Brown Compl. Farmer 110 An acre of ground will require ten pound of seed. 1795 Gentl. Mag. July 581/2 Irony, like Satire, is one of those edged tools which require skilful handling. 1810 Crabbe Borough i. 8 Cities and towns, the various haunts of men, Require the pencil; they defy the pen. 1868 Lockyer Elem. Astron. ii. §7 (1879) 39 More than 1,200,000 Earths would be required to make one Sun. |
c. To demand as a necessary help or aid; hence, to stand in need of; to need, want.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 53 In grauel wole thei growe But moist bothe erthe & ayer they ther require. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 46 Trewe metalle requeryth noon allay. 1538 Starkey England i. i. 15 In many thyngys,..nature requyryth the dylygence of man. 1563 Winȝet Four Scoir Thre Quest. Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 61 The defence of fraud and falset necessarlie requeris a cloke of finȝeit eloquence. 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients 46 So doth one of these two alwayes require the others helpe. 1671 Milton P.R. ii. 412 Great acts require great means of enterprise. 1770 Goldsm. Des. Vill. 60 Light labour..Just gave what life required, but gave no more. 1849 M. Arnold To Republican Friend, For such doing they require not eyes. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 62 The body which is in health requires neither medical nor any other aid. |
d. it requires, there is need for, it is necessary to have, etc. (Usually const. with inf.)
| 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. I. 44 Surely it does not require a palace to be happy with Mary. 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 18 It required all the personal influence of the king to check..his irritated followers. 1895 Law Times XCIX. 476/2 It requires the talents of a Boileau..to play the part of a flâneur with any success. |
7. intr. To be requisite or necessary. Now rare.
| c 1500 Lancelot 1962 And pwnice them quhar pwnysing Requeris. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccxxxvi. 334 Ye shall fynde the men of warr suche as to dedes of armes requyreth. 1547 Homilies i. Reading Script. i. (1859) 8 If it shall require to teach any truth or reprove false doctrine. 1802 Beddoes Hygëia viii. 168 It does not require to be professionally conversant with the sick to be sensible, that [etc.]. 1862 Spencer First Princ. i. iv. §24 (1875) 79 To produce that orderly consciousness..there requires the assimilation of each impression to others. |
8. a. To feel, or be under, a necessity to do something.
| 1805 tr. Lafontaine's Hermann & Emilia I. 161 ‘Louisa’, said he to her, ‘I require to behold you a wife’. 1853 G. J. Cayley Las Alforjas II. 58 The wise man..requires to be engaged in deeper and more perplexing matters. 1879 B. Taylor Stud. Germ. Lit. 104 This is all of the great migratory movement which we require to know. |
b. To fall necessarily, to need, to be done, etc.
| 1842 Whewell in Life (1881) 259 It is a task which requires to be performed. 1857 Maurice Ep. St. John xvii. 277 In speaking of the state of mankind..two facts require to be explained. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 253 The wicked are miserable because they require to be punished. |
III. † 9. trans. To seek after, search for. Also, to inquire after; to call upon, summon. Obs.
| c 1450 Merlin 218 These fledde till thei come be-fore the yate;..and these other come vpon hem that right straytly hem required. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis i. (Arb.) 24 They theire lost feloes with long talck greedye requyred. 1609 Bible (Douay) Ecclus. xxxix. 13 The memorie of him shal not depart, and his name shal be required [L. requiretur] from generation to generation. 1642 H. More Song of Soul i. iii. xxiv, Though the glory of the Lord ore-flow The earth,..Yet waters he in waters doth requere. 1666 Dryden Ann. Mirab. cclvi, Those who have none sit round where once it was And with full eyes each wonted room require. 1697 ― Virg. Georg. iii. 160 In vain he burns..And in himself his former self requires. 1715 Pope Iliad ii. 945 But the brave chiefs..wandering o'er the camp, required their lord. 1742 Gray West 6 A different Object do these Eyes require. 1797 Monthly Mag. III. 548 The sheriff is to cause the defendant to be required at five successive county-courts. |
† b. To search into, investigate, pursue. Obs.—1
| 1563 J. Man Musculus' Commonpl. 16 It is needeful also for some places of Scripture, that this question bee required. |