(a) That which is required or essential; something needed; a need or necessity of life; also, some necessary act or duty [quot.: Merlin]; longen to ~, to be needed; ~ of nature, necessitees of kinde, the essentials of life, requirements of human nature; nede and ~; (b) the state of being in need or hardship; want, poverty; also fig.; haven ~ to, to need to beg from (sb.); ~ of, lack or need of (sth.); (c) a compelling need; unavoidable or constraining circumstances; a difficult situation; (d) philosophical or logical necessity; inevitability; fate, predestination; natural law; simple ~, that which is necessarily true or absolutely fated or predestined; ~ condicional, that which is true or predestined only if some condition is met; bihoven bi ~, to be inescapable; be necessarily true [see also bihoven v. 2a. (a)]; (e) of ~, because of the constraint of certain needs or circumstances; necessarily, unavoidably; (f) in proverbial sayings.