necessity, n.
(nɪˈsɛsɪtɪ)
Forms: 4–6 necessite, (5 nessesite), 5–6 necessitee, -yte(e, (5 -ytie), 6–7 necessitie, -itye, 6– necessity.
[a. F. necessité (12th c.), ad. L. necessitāt-em, f. necesse needful, necessary: see -ity.]
I. † 1. a. The fact of being inevitably fixed or determined. Obs.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iv. 1012 Whether that the prescience of God is The certaine cause of the necessite Of thinges that to comen be. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love iii. iii. (Skeat) l. 16 Liberte of arbitrement, thorow whiche thou belevest many thinges to be without necessite. 1534 More Treat. Passion Wks. 1286/1 Not onely the necessitye of temporal deathe. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 619 The necessitie of destinie cannot by any mans deuise, be eyther letted or interrupted. |
† b. The constraining power of something. Obs.
| 1529 More Dyaloge iv. Wks. 261/2 Those that wrechedly lai al the weyght and blame of our sinne to the necessite and constraynt of goddes ordinaunce. 1533 Bellenden Livy i. xvii. (S.T.S.) I. 93 Ȝit he could nocht brek be witt and engyne of man þe necessite and violence of fortoun. |
2. a. Constraint or compulsion having its basis in the natural constitution of things; esp. such constraint conceived as a law prevailing throughout the material universe and within the sphere of human action.
| 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. cxlvi, So that the diuersitee Off thaire wirking suld cause necessitee. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. v. 25 Who can turne the stream of destinee, Or breake the chayne of strong necessitee? 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 816 Thales saith, that Necessitie is most potent and forcible, for it is that which ruleth the whole world. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 258 He..ordaind thy will By nature free, not over-rul'd by Fate Inextricable, or strict necessity. 1754 Edwards Freed. Will i. iii. (1762) 13 The common Notion of Necessity and Impossibility implies something that frustrates Endeavour or Desire. 1803 Malthus Popul. i. i. (1806) I. 3 Necessity, that imperious, all-pervading law of nature. 1884 F. Temple Relig. & Sci. iii. (1885) 84 When we turn from abstract arguments to facts, the doctrine of necessity is unquestionably unproven. |
b. With defining terms, as absolute, conditional, logical, moral, natural, philosophical, physical.
| 1587 Golding De Mornay ix. (1592) 131 Of the necessitie that is conditional, and not of the necessitie that is absolute as they terme it. 1620 T. Granger Div. Logike 36 Euen God effecting by absolute necessitie [etc.]. 1697 tr. Burgersdicius' Logic i. 60 By natural necessity we understand not only that by which inanimate things act, as plants [etc.]. a 1740 Waterland Diss. Argument 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 Priestley Philos. Necess. Pref. 26 Mr. Hobbes was the first who understood..the proper doctrine of philosophical necessity. 1840 Penny Cycl. XVI. 127/2 Physical necessity has its origin in the established order and laws of the material universe. 1862 Spencer First Princ. ii. iv. §53 (1875) 174 The consciousness of logical necessity. |
3. a. The constraining power of circumstances; a condition or state of things compelling to a certain course of action. (Sometimes with implication of sense 10.)
| 1382 Wyclif Wisd. xix. 4 Ther ladde them to that ende wrthi necessite. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 157 To helpe..his oghne lond Behoveth every man his hond To sette upon necessite. 1509 Fisher Funeral Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 296 Compelled by necessyte to seche helpe & socoure in theyr cause. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 108 Necessitie requyred to make all the power againste hym that myght be gathered. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 218, I would rather admit (if necessitie require) any figurative speech. 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 26 They are justly suspected, and seldome traffiqued with, but in case of necessity. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. ii. xxi. §9. 118 Every one pities him, as acting by Necessity and Constraint. 1735 Bolingbroke On Parties 100 Necessity and Self-Preservation are the great Laws of Nature. 1781 Burke Corr. (1844) II. 423, I know the rigour of political necessity; but I see here, as little of necessity..as of propriety. 1824 Mackintosh Sp. Ho. Comm. Wks. 1846 III. 407 Its introduction can be justified only by necessity; its continuance requires precisely the same justification of necessity. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 495 If a ship be compelled by necessity to change the order of the places to which she is insured. |
b. work of necessity, something which cannot possibly or naturally be left undone.
| a 1600 W. Perkins Wks. (1617) II. 110 Workes..of present necessity..such as cannot be done before or after the Sabbath. 1647 [see mercy n. 7]. 1684 Spelman Law Terms 67 For saving that which otherwise would perish: A work of Necessity. 1824 [see mercy n. 7]. |
4. of necessity: a. Necessarily, inevitably, unavoidably.
| 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love iii. ii. (Skeat) l. 125 And of necessite of suche justice..was free choice..graunted to resonable creatures. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 142 Of verray necessite The Philosophre him hath betake Fyf pointz. c 1440 Generydes 2552 Thenne of necessite They them withdrewe. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 13 We must all dye of necessite for original synne. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 168 At such time as the ground is covered with snowe,..you must of necessitie helpe them with a little meat. 1611 Bible Luke xxiii. 17 Of necessitie hee must release one vnto them at the Feast. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ iii. iv. §5 For supposing a production of the world, several things must of necessity be supposed in it. 1756 Burke Subl. & B. Introd., Wks. I. 105 A little attention will convince us that this must of necessity be the case. 1814 Cary Dante, Par. iv. 10 Of necessity It happen'd. 1866 Herschel Fam. Lect. Sci. 209 Those [stars] to which every observer of necessity resorts to test the stability of his instruments. |
† b. Necessary, indispensable. Obs. rare.
| a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lviii. 202 It is of necessyte that ye goo to kynge Iuoryn..and pray hym to haue mercy of you. 1581 Fulke in Confer. ii. (1584) M iij b, It is not of necessitie by Christes commandement. |
5. In phrases and proverbs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 2184 Than is it wisdom..To maken vertu of necessite. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 176 Necessite nath neuere halyday. a 1555 [see law n.1 3 a]. 1581 G. Pettie tr. Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) 5 Therefore wee must force our will,..whereof followeth a vertue of necessitie. 1614–16 R. C. Times' Whistle iv. 1379 Signior Necessity, that hath no law. 1658 R. Franck North. Mem. (1694) 44 Art imitates Nature, and Necessity is the Mother of Invention. a 1708 Beveridge Thes. Theol. (1711) III. 59 By patience you make a vertue of necessity. 1758 J. Blake Plan Mar. Syst. 60 Necessity has no law. 1837 Marryat Perc. Keene xxi, One must always make a virtue of necessity. 1885 Times (weekly ed.) 17 Apr. 9/1 Necessity is the mother of inventions. 1897 Pall Mall Mag. June 228 It may seem cool, but necessity has no law. |
† 6. a. A necessary piece of business; a necessary act. Obs. (Cf. need n. 12.)
| c 1450 Merlin 64 He toke leve, and yede thourgh the courte in his othir necessitees. c 1532 G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 1037 In all her necessities and busenes. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, v. i. 2 These should be houres for necessities, Not for delights. 1662 J. Davies tr. Mandelslo's Trav. 268 They never do their necessities, but they lay a stick cross a pit, upon which they sit for their greater ease. 1676 Hale Contempl. i. Gt. Audit 85 That is not a Necessity which may be forborn to be done..until the Morrow. |
† b. Necessary duty. Obs. rare.
| 1546 Mem. Ripon (Surtees) III. 17 In the sayde Church the necessitie is to pray and to ayde dyvyne service. 1546 Yorksh. Chantry Surv. (Surtees) II. 213 The necessitie thereof is to do dyvine servyce. |
† c. Something unavoidable. Obs. rare.
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iii. i. 92 Are these things then Necessities? Then let vs meete them like Necessities. 1611 ― Wint. T. iv. iv. 38 One of these two must be necessities, Which then will speake. |
7. a. An unavoidable compulsion or obligation of doing something. Also with inf. Now rare.
| 1630 Prynne Anti-Armin. 123 Who haue a necessity of sinning since his fall. 1686 tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 182 There was a necessity for us to let our Horses rest. 1727 De Foe Syst. Magic i. iv. (1840) 99 Bringing them to a necessity of laying it aside, before they had carried it on too far. 1747 Wesley Prim. Physick (1762) p. xxv, Honest Men are under no Necessity of touching them. 1817 Jas. Mill 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. |
b. An imperative need for or † of something.
| 1673 True Worship 27 If any argue..a necessity of a Sermon; he must..conclude [etc.]. 1707 Freind Peterborow's Cond. Sp. 185 God be praised we are not in a Necessity of a Victory. 1751 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. II. 99 She thinks there will be a necessity for it. 1817 Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. viii. 678 The strongest necessity existed for rendering the resources of the country available to its defence. 1875 Whitney Life Lang. iii. 40 They were..recent additions to the language. The introduction of Christianity had created a necessity for them. |
8. The fact of being indispensable; the indispensableness of some act or thing.
| 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. l. §3 Vpon their force their necessitie dependeth. 1707 Addison Pres. St. War Misc. Wks. 1766 III. 271 We see the necessity of an augmentation if we intend to bring the enemy to reason. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 170 ¶9, I had seen mankind enough to know the necessity of outward cheerfulness. 1813 Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1838) XI. 22 If you will point out to them the necessity of adopting some measures to subsist their armies. 1835 I. Taylor Spir. Despot. iii. 66 Whatever may enhance our ideas of the necessity and sovereignty of divine grace. 1891 Speaker 2 May 532/2 Modern Socialists..have not overlooked the necessity of protecting individual freedom. |
II. 9. † a. What is necessarily required; necessaries. Obs.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce vi. 29 His men fra him sua scalit war, Till purchess thame necessite. c 1400 Rom. Rose 6740 Thanne may he begge til that he Have geten his necessite. c 1440 Gesta Rom ii. xciv. 424 (Addit. MS.), Man was not made to so grete superfluyte, but to necessite of nature. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 381 b/2 He had the poure peple wryton by name..for to gyue to theym theyr necessyte. 1650 T. B[ayley] Worcester's Apoph. 37 You have the prittiest peece of necessity yonder, at the side Table. |
b. An indispensable or necessary thing.
| 1481 Caxton Godfrey clvi. 231 For to..bye theyr necessytees at the shippes. 1563 Shute Archit. B iij, Many other necessities therunto belonging. 1799 E. Du Bois Piece Family Biog. I. 19 Sufficient for many things more than the necessities of life. 1842 Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life (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. |
10. a. The condition of being in difficulties or straits, esp. through lack of means; want, poverty.
| c 1475 Partenay 3818 Off me shall ye haue both ayde and comfort In all your nedes of necessite. 1514 Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshm. (Percy Soc.) 5 Wynter declareth harde nede & poverte, Than men it feleth whiche have necessyte. 1550 Coverdale Spir. Perle xi. Wks. (Parker Soc.) I. 128 When he was in extreme anguish and necessity, he made his humble prayer. 1605 Shakes. Lear ii. iv. 214 Necessities sharpe pinch. 1639 S. Du Verger tr. Camus' Admir. Events 7 This came in good time to keepe this poore family from necessity. 1728 Morgan Algiers II. ii. 231 As those People had a very indifferent Harvest, they underwent great Necessity. 1768 in Priv. Lett. Ld. Malmesbury (1870) I. 166 The people are labouring under the greatest necessity, garden-stuff and bread..being raised in price one third. |
b. With possessive pron. or genitive.
| 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 37 Al that longyth to thy necessyte Shal be provydyd by God and me. c 1511 1st Eng. Bk. Amer. (Arb.) Introd. 32/1 We shall gyue theym gold & syluer to th[e]yr necessitie. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. i. iii. 157 You shall not seale to such a bond for me, Ile rather dwell in my necessitie. 1617 Moryson Itin. ii. 153 The necessity of the Spanish forces already in Ireland being more then was expected. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xx. 106 They will not ask whether his necessity be a sufficient title. 1859 Hawthorne Marb. Faun v, All of whom find such..saloons..as their necessity can pay for. |
c. Bad, illicit spirit.
| 1796 Marshall West of Eng. I. 236 [The liquor] is drank in a recent state, under the appropriate name of ‘necessity’. 1886 Elworthy W. Som. Word-bk. s.v. Still-waters, I too have often tasted ‘necessity’, as it was sometimes called. |
11. A situation of hardship or difficulty; a pressing need or want. (Chiefly in pl.)
| c 1450 tr. De Imitatione iii. l. 120 Seldom is founden a trusty frende, þat is perseuerant in all þe necessites of his frende. 1494 Fabyan Chron. 7 Comforte to suche as calle To the for helpe in eche necessyte. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 152 This mortall lyfe, whiche for synne is full of necessytees and myseryes. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. xviii. 51 b, To succour and supply the instant necessities which might happen. 1611 Bible Transl. Pref. ¶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. 1704 Hearne Duct. Hist. (1714) I. 410 He attended little to his Art and wrought at it only so far as Necessities obliged him. 1775 Hist. Eur. in Ann. Reg. 59/2 The necessities of the mother country. 1794 Coleridge Relig. Musings 218 Their keen necessities To ceaseless action goading human thought. 1876 Mozley Univ. Serm. xv. (ed. 2) 261 We must aim at a habit of gratitude, which has no relation to present necessities. |
† 12. Want of a thing. Obs.
| c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. iii. (1885) 114 For gret necessite wich the French kynge hade of goode. 1558 in Strype Ann. Ref. (1824) I. App. iv. 396 By this means..her majesty's necessity of money may be..relieved. 1675 Earl of Essex Lett. (1770) 352 Several of the foot companies in Ireland are in great necessity of clothing. 1754 J. Shebbeare Matrimony (1766) I. 173 You..are in Necessity of many things. |
† 13. A bond or tie between persons. Obs. rare—1.
| 1595 in Spottiswood Hist. Ch. Scot. vi. (1677) 411 The necessity between Prince and subject is reciproque. |
14. attrib. necessity-operator Logic, a word or symbol signifying that the proposition to which it attaches is a necessary truth.
| 1957 A. N. Prior Time & Modality 57 Church's necessity-operator is not an operator of this sort. 1968 Hughes & Cresswell Introd. Modal Logic ii. 24 We shall call L the necessity operator. 1973 M. J. Cresswell Logics & Lang. ii. 32 The simplest is the necessity operator, or as Dana Scott calls it, the universal necessity operator. |
Hence neˈcessity v., to necessitate. rare—1.
| 1827 I. Taylor Trans. Anc. Bks. xii. (1875) 132 One climate..necessities a much greater degree of permanency in the habits of the people than another. |