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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
You are here: Webster > Letter N > Page 9 of 43.
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Necessarianism Nec`es·sa"ri·an·ism noun The doctrine of philosophical necessity; necessitarianism. Hixley.

Necessarily Nec"es·sa·ri·ly adverb In a necessary manner; by necessity; unavoidably; indispensably.

Necessariness Nec"es·sa·ri·ness noun The quality of being necessary.

Necessary Nec"es·sa·ry adjective [ Latin necessarius , from necesse unavoidable, necessary; of uncertain origin: confer French nécessaire .] 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; requisite; 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.

Necessary Nec"es·sa·ry noun ; plural 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. plural (Law) Such things, in respect to infants, lunatics, and married women, as are requisite for support suitable to station.

Necessitarian Ne·ces`si·ta"ri·an adjective Of or pertaining to the doctrine of philosophical necessity in regard to the origin and existence of things, especially as applied to the actings or choices of the will; -- opposed to libertarian .

Necessitarian Ne·ces`si·ta"ri·an noun One who holds to the doctrine of necessitarianism.

Necessitarianism Ne·ces`si·ta"ri·an·ism noun The doctrine of philosophical necessity; the doctrine that results follow by invariable sequence from causes, and esp. that the will is not free, but that human actions and choices result inevitably from motives; determinism. M. Arnold.

Necessitate Ne·ces"si·tate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Necessitated ; present participle & verbal noun Necessitating .] [ Confer Latin necessitatus , past participle of necessitare , and French nécessiter . See Necessity .] 1. To make necessary or indispensable; to render unavoidable.

Sickness [ might] necessitate his removal from the court.
South.

This fact necessitates a second line.
J. Peile.

2. To reduce to the necessity of; to force; to compel.

The Marquis of Newcastle, being pressed on both sides, was necessitated to draw all his army into York.
Clarendon.

Necessitattion Ne·ces`si·tat"tion noun [ Confer French nécessitation .] The act of making necessary, or the state of being made necessary; compulsion. [ R.] bp. Bramhall.

Necessitied Ne·ces"si·tied adjective In a state of want; necessitous. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Necessitous Ne·ces"si·tous adjective [ Confer French nécessiteux .] 1. Very needy or indigent; pressed with poverty.

Necessitous heirs and penurious parents.
Arbuthnot.

2. Narrow; destitute; pinching; pinched; as, necessitous circumstances.

-- Ne*ces"si*tous*ly , adverb -- Ne*ces"si*tous*ness , noun

Necessitude Ne·ces"si·tude noun [ Latin necessitudo , from necesse. See Necessray .] 1. Necessitousness; want. Sir M. Hale.

2. Necessary connection or relation.

Between kings and their people, parents and their children, there is so great a necessitude , propriety, and intercourse of nature.
Jer. Taylor.

Necessity Ne·ces"si·ty noun ; plural Necessities . [ Middle English necessite , French nécessité , Latin necessitas , from necesse . See Necessary .] 1. The quality or state of being necessary, unavoidable, or absolutely requisite; inevitableness; indispensableness.

2. The condition of being needy or necessitous; pressing need; indigence; want.

Urge the necessity and state of times.
Shak.

The extreme poverty and necessity his majesty was in.
Clarendon.

3. That which is necessary; a necessary; a requisite; something indispensable; -- often in the plural.

These should be hours for necessities ,
Not for delights.
Shak.

What was once to me
Mere matter of the fancy, now has grown
The vast necessity of heart and life.
Tennyson.

4. That which makes an act or an event unavoidable; irresistible force; overruling power; compulsion, physical or moral; fate; fatality.

So spake the fiend, and with necessity ,
The tyrant's plea, excused his devilish deeds.
Milton.

5. (Metaph.) The negation of freedom in voluntary action; the subjection of all phenomena, whether material or spiritual, to inevitable causation; necessitarianism.

Of necessity , by necessary consequence; by compulsion, or irresistible power; perforce.

Syn. -- See Need .

Neck Neck noun [ Middle English necke , Anglo-Saxon hnecca ; akin to Dutch nek the nape of the neck, German nacken , Old High German nacch , hnacch , Icelandic hnakki , Swedish nacke , Danish nakke .] 1. The part of an animal which connects the head and the trunk, and which, in man and many other animals, is more slender than the trunk.

2. Any part of an inanimate object corresponding to or resembling the neck of an animal ; as: (a) The long slender part of a vessel, as a retort, or of a fruit, as a gourd. (b) A long narrow tract of land projecting from the main body, or a narrow tract connecting two larger tracts. (c) (Mus.) That part of a violin, guitar, or similar instrument, which extends from the head to the body, and on which is the finger board or fret board.

3. (Mech.) A reduction in size near the end of an object, formed by a groove around it; as, a neck forming the journal of a shaft.

4. (Botany) the point where the base of the stem of a plant arises from the root.

Neck and crop , completely; wholly; altogether; roughly and at once. [ Colloq.] -- Neck and neck (Racing) , so nearly equal that one cannot be said to be before the other; very close; even; side by side. -- Neck of a capital . (Architecture) See Gorgerin . -- Neck of a cascabel (Gun.) , the part joining the knob to the base of the breech. -- Neck of a gun , the small part of the piece between the chase and the swell of the muzzle. -- Neck of a tooth (Anat.) , the constriction between the root and the crown. -- Neck or nothing (Fig.), at all risks. -- Neck verse . (a) The verse formerly read to entitle a party to the benefit of clergy, said to be the first verse of the fifty-first Psalm, " Miserere mei ," etc. Sir W. Scott. (b) Hence, a verse or saying, the utterance of which decides one's fate; a shibboleth.

These words, "bread and cheese," were their neck verse or shibboleth to distinguish them; all pronouncing "broad and cause," being presently put to death.
Fuller.

-- Neck yoke . (a) A bar by which the end of the tongue of a wagon or carriage is suspended from the collars of the harnesses. (b) A device with projecting arms for carrying things (as buckets of water or sap) suspended from one's shoulders . -- On the neck of , immediately after; following closely. "Commiting one sin on the neck of another." W. Perkins. -- Stiff neck , obstinacy in evil or wrong; inflexible obstinacy; contumacy. "I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck ." Deut. xxxi. 27. -- To break the neck of , to destroy the main force of. "What they presume to borrow from her sage and virtuous rules . . . breaks the neck of their own cause." Milton. -- To harden the neck , to grow obstinate; to be more and more perverse and rebellious. Neh. ix. 17. -- To tread on the neck of , to oppress; to tyrannize over.

Neck Neck transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Necked ; present participle & verbal noun Necking .] (Mech.) To reduce the diameter of (an object) near its end, by making a groove around it; -- used with down ; as, to neck down a shaft.

Neckar nut Neck"ar nut` (Botany) See Nicker nut .

Neckband Neck"band` noun A band which goes around the neck; often, the part at the top of a garment.

Neckcloth Neck"cloth` noun A piece of any fabric worn around the neck.

Necked Necked adjective 1. Having (such) a neck; -- chiefly used in composition; as, stiff- necked .

2. (Nautical) Cracked; -- said of a treenail.

Neckerchief Neck"er·chief noun [ For neck kerchief .] A kerchief for the neck; -- called also neck handkerchief .

Necking Neck"ing noun Same as Neckmold .

Necklace Neck"lace noun 1. A string of beads, etc., or any continuous band or chain, worn around the neck as an ornament.

2. (Nautical) A rope or chain fitted around the masthead to hold hanging blocks for jibs and stays.

necklaced neck"laced adjective Wearing a necklace; marked as with a necklace.

The hooded and the necklaced snake.
Sir W. Jones.

neckland neck"land noun A neck of land. [ Obsolete]

necklet neck"let noun A necklace. E. Anold.

Neckmold, Neckmould Neck"mold`, Neck"mould` noun (Architecture) A small convex molding surrounding a column at the junction of the shaft and capital. Weale.

Neckplate Neck"plate` noun See Gorget , 1 and 2.

Necktie Neck"tie` noun A scarf, band, or kerchief of silk, etc., passing around the neck or collar and tied in front; a bow of silk, etc., fastened in front of the neck.

Neckwear Neck"wear` noun A collective term for cravats, collars, etc. [ Colloq. or trade name]

Neckweed Neck"weed` noun (Botany) (a) An American annual weed ( veronica peregrina ), with small white flowers and a roundish pod. (b) The hemp; -- so called as furnishing ropes for hanging criminals. Dr. prior.

Necrobiosis Nec`ro·bi·o"sis noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... dead + ... way of life, from ... life.] (Biol. & Med.) The death of a part by molecular disintegration and without loss of continuity, as in the processes of degeneration and atrophy. Virchow.

Necrobiotic Nec`ro·bi·ot"ic adjective (Biol. & Med.) Of or pertaining to necrobiosis; as, a necrobiotic metamorphosis.

Necrolatry Ne·crol"a·try noun [ Greek ... a dead person + ... to worship.] The worship of the dead; manes worship. H. Spenser.

Necrolite Nec"ro·lite noun [ Greek ... a corpse + -lite .] (Min.) Same as Necronite .

Necrologic, Necrological Nec`ro·log"ic, Nec`ro·log"ic·al adjective [ Confer French nécrologique .] Of or pertaining to necrology; of the nature of necrology; relating to, or giving, an account of the dead, or of deaths.

Necrologist Ne·crol"o·gist noun One who gives an account of deaths.

Necrology Ne·crol"o·gy noun ; plural Necrologies . [ Greek ... a dead person + - logy : confer French nécrologie . See Necromancy .] An account of deaths, or of the dead; a register of deaths; a collection of obituary notices.

Necromancer Nec"ro·man`cer noun One who practices necromancy; a sorcerer; a wizard.

Necromancy Nec"ro·man`cy noun [ Middle English nigromaunce , nigromancie , Old French nigromance , French nécromance , nécromancie , from Latin necromantia , Greek ...; ... a dead body (akin to Latin necare to kill, Sanskrit na ( ... ) to perish, vanish) + ... divination, from ... diviner, seer, akin to English mania . See Mania , and confer Internecine , Noxious . The old spelling is due to confusion with Latin niger black. Hence the name black art .] The art of revealing future events by means of a pretended communication with the dead; the black art; hence, magic in general; conjuration; enchantment. See Black art .

This palace standeth in the air,
By necromancy placèd there.
Drayton.

Necromantic Nec`ro·man"tic noun Conjuration. [ R.]

With all the necromantics of their art.
Young.

Necromantic, Necromantical Nec`ro·man"tic, Nec`ro·man"tic·al adjective Of or pertaining to necromancy; performed by necromancy. -- Nec`ro*man"tic*al*ly , adverb

Necronite Nec"ro·nite noun [ Greek ... a dead body.] (Min.) Fetid feldspar, a mineral which, when struck, exhales a fetid odor.

Necrophagan Ne·croph"a·gan adjective [ See Necrophagous .] (Zoology) Eating carrion. -- noun (Zoology) Any species of a tribe ( Necrophaga ) of beetles which, in the larval state, feed on carrion; a burying beetle.

Necrophagous Ne·croph"a·gous adjective [ Greek ... eating corpses; ... a dead body + ... to eat: confer French nécrophage .] (Zoology) Of or pertaining to the Necrophaga ; eating carrion. See Necrophagan .

Necrophobia Nec`ro·pho"bi·a noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... a dead body + ... to fear.] An exaggerated fear of death or horror of dead bodies.

Necrophore Nec"ro·phore noun [ Greek ... a dead body + ... to bear.] (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of beetles of the genus Necrophorus and allied genera; -- called also burying beetle , carrion beetle , sexton beetle .

Necropolis Ne·crop"o·lis noun ; plural Necropolises . [ New Latin , from Greek ...; ... a dead body, adj., dead + ... city.] A city of the dead; a name given by the ancients to their cemeteries, and sometimes applied to modern burial places; a graveyard.

Necropsy Nec"rop·sy noun [ Greek ... a dead body + ... sight: confer French nécropsie .] (Medicine) A post-mortem examination or inspection; an autopsy. See Autopsy .

Necroscopic, Necroscopical Nec`ro·scop"ic, Nec`ro·scop"ic·al adjective [ Greek ... a dead body + -scope .] Or or relating to post-mortem examinations.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
You are here: Webster > Letter N > Page 9 of 43.
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