LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

necessitās

necessitās f (genitive necessitātis)
Classical[nɛˈkɛs.sɪ.taːs]Ecclesiastical[neˈt͡ʃɛs.si.tas]
№ 911 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. necessity, need, unavoidableness, compulsion, exigency
  2. figurativelyfate, destiny, inevitability
  3. in pluralnecessities, necessary things or expenses

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

vīs quae cōgit; necessitās nōn rogat — iubet!
necessitās -ātis f — in Mille Verba, Basilica et Iūs

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativenecessitāsnecessitātēs
genitivenecessitātisnecessitātum
dativenecessitātīnecessitātibus
accusativenecessitātemnecessitātēs
ablativenecessitātenecessitātibus
vocativenecessitāsnecessitātēs

nĕcessĭtas, ātis (
I. gen. plur. -ātium, Caes. B. G. 7, 89, 1), f. necesse, unavoidableness, inevitableness, necessity, compulsion, force, exigency.
I. Lit.: hinc exsistit illa fatalis necessitas, quam εἱμαρμένην dicitis, ut, quidquid accidat, id ex aeternā veritate, causarumque continuatione fluxisse dicatis, Cic. N. D. 1, 20, 55: ut, etiam si naturā tales (i. e. feroces) non sint, necessitate esse coguntur, by the compulsion of circumstances, id. Fam. 4, 9, 3: tempori cedere, id est necessitati parere, semper sapientis est habitum, id. ib. 4, 9, 2: veniam necessitati dare, id. Off. 2, 16, 56: necessitatem alicui afferre, id. Phil. 10, 1, 2. necessitas mihi obvenit alicujus rei, id. Off. 2, 21, 74: ex necessitate aliquid facere, Tac. H. 3, 62: ac nescio an majores necessitates vobis, quam captivis vestris, fortuna circumdederit, Liv. 21, 43: extrema necessitas, i. e. death, Sall. H. 1, 41, 15 Dietsch; Tac. A. 15, 61; id. H. 1, 72: necessitate me, mala ut fiam, facis, Plaut. Pers. 3, 1, 54.—Prov.: facere de necessitate virtutem, to make a virtue of necessity, Hier. in Ruf. 3, n. 2; id. Ep. 54, n. 6: quam cum pecuniam profudisset, et sibi nihil non modo ad cupiditates suas, sed ne ad necessitatem quidem reliquisset, Cic. Clu. 25, 68.—
II. Transf.
A. Fate, destiny, a law of nature: signorum ortus et obitus ... quadam ex necessitate semper eodem modo fiunt, Cic. Inv. 1, 34, 59: humana consilia divina necessitate esse superata, id. Lig. 6, 17: ut vita, quae necessitati deberetur, id. Sest. 21, 47: ut id fatum vim necessitatis adferret, id. Fat. 17, 39: et vis omnium rerum, id. ib. 20, 48: fati, Liv. 1, 42.—
B. In plur. concr., necessaries, necessary things, necessary expenses: reliquis autem tribus virtutibus necessitates propositae sunt ad eas res parandas, quibus actio vitae continetur, Cic. Off. 1, 5, 17: vitae necessitatibus servire, id. Div. 1, 49, 110: suarum necessitatum causa, wants, interests, Caes. B. G. 7, 89: publicae necessitates, Liv. 23, 48, 10: necessitates ac largitiones, Tac. A. 1, 11.—
C. Necessity, need, want (mostly post-Aug.): famem et ceteras necessitates tantopere tolerabant, ut, etc., Suet. Caes. 68; id. Tib. 47: quod pro honore acceptum etiam necessitatibus subvenit, Tac. G. 15: neque enim necessitatibus tantummodo nostris provisum est, usque in delicias amamur, Sen. Ben. 4, 5, 1; cf.: sustinere necessitates aliorum, Liv. 6, 15, 9.—
D. For necessitudo, connection, relationship, friendship: si nostram necessitatem familiaritatemque violāsset, Cic. Sull. 1, 2: magnam necessitatem possidet paternus maternusque sanguis, bond of affection, intimacy, id. Rosc. Am. 24, 66: equidem mihi videor pro nostrā necessitate non labore defuisse, Caes. ap. Gell. 13, 3, 5 (cited ap. Non. 354, 11).—
E. Personified: Necessitas, the goddess of necessity, the Gr. Ἀνάγκη: te semper anteit saeva Necessitas, Hor. C. 1, 35, 17; cf. Macr. S. 1, 19; and v. clavus.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *néder. Proto-Indo-European *méh₁ Proto-Indo-European *néh₁der. Proto-Italic *nē Archaic Latin nei Old Latin ne Latin ne- Latin cessus Latin necesse Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin necessitās From necesse (“unavoidable”) + -tās (abstract noun suffix).

Descendants
  • Catalannecessitat
  • Italiannecessità
  • Englishnecessityfrom Old French necessite
  • Frenchnécessitéfrom Old French necessite
  • Portuguesenecessidade
  • Romaniannecesitate
  • Spanishnecesidadfrom Old Spanish necessidad
  • Asturiannecesidá
  • Friuliannecessitât
  • Galiciannecesidade

In English words that came into English from necessitās

  • necessitynecessitās

Quick answers

What does necessitās mean in Latin?
necessitās, a noun, means “necessity, need, unavoidableness, compulsion, exigency; fate, destiny, inevitability; necessities, necessary things or expenses”.
What is the genitive of necessitās?
The genitive singular is necessitātis. necessitās is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce necessitās?
In classical Latin, [nɛˈkɛs.sɪ.taːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [neˈt͡ʃɛs.si.tas].