Nec"es*sa*ry (?), a. [L. necessarius, from necesse unavoidable, necessary; of uncertain origin: cf. F. n'ecessaire.]

1.

Such as must be; impossible to be otherwise; not to be avoided; inevitable.

Death, a necessary end, Will come when it will come. Shak.

2.

Impossible to be otherwise, or to be dispensed with, without preventing the attainment of a desired result; indispensable; requiste; essential.

"'T is necessary he should die."

Shak.

A certain kind of temper is necessary to the pleasure and quiet of our minds. Tillotson.

3.

Acting from necessity or compulsion; involuntary; -- opposed to free; as, whether man is a necessary or a free agent is a question much discussed.

 

© Webster 1913.


Nec"es*sa*ry, n.; pl. Necessaries ().

1.

A thing that is necessary or indispensable to some purpose; something that one can not do without; a requisite; an essential; -- used chiefly in the plural; as, the necessaries of life.

2.

A privy; a water-closet.

3. pl. Law

Such things, in respect to infants, lunatics, and married women, as are requisite for support suitable to station.

 

© Webster 1913.

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