Etymograph

English

necessity

Necessity comes from Latin necessitās ‘unavoidableness, compulsion, exigency, necessity’, from cessus ‘yielded’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *né ‘not’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*né1‘not’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méh₁1‘prohibitive particle: "don't ...!"’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néh₁1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nē1‘not’reconstructed
  5. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEnei1
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcessus1‘yielded’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnecesse2‘unavoidable, inevitable’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnecessitās2‘unavoidableness, compulsion, exigency, necessity’
  9. Old Frenchc. 842–1400necessite2
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500necessite2
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1804necessity2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin necesse
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English necessity
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1804, The Small Celandine: “I stopped, and said with inly muttered voice, 'It…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néWiktionary, Latin necesse‘not’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méh₁Wiktionary, Latin necesse‘prohibitive particle: "don't ...!"’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néh₁Wiktionary, Latin necessereconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nēWiktionary, Latin necesse‘not’reconstructed
  5. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEneiWiktionary, Latin necesse
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcessusWiktionary, Latin necesse‘yielded’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnecesseWiktionary, English necessity‘unavoidable, inevitable’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnecessitāsWiktionary, English necessity‘unavoidableness, compulsion, exigency, necessity’
  9. Old Frenchc. 842–1400necessiteWiktionary, English necessity
  10. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500necessiteWiktionary, English necessity
  11. Englishearliest quotation 1804necessityWiktionary, English necessity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1804, The Small Celandine: “I stopped, and said with inly muttered voice, 'It…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *né ‘not’

no, na, negotiate, ne, renegade, negotiator, 14 more

through Archaic Latin nei

negative, negate, renege, 4 more

Today it means

noun The quality or state of being necessary, unavoidable, or absolutely requisite.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “necessity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin necesse. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *né / necessity

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