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re·quire

(rĭ-kwīr)

tr.v. re·quired, re·quir·ing, re·quires

1. To have as a requisite or necessity; need or depend on: Do you require assistance? Most plants require plenty of water.

a. To stipulate as obligatory by authority: The law requires full disclosure of charitable donations.

b. To demand as obligatory or appropriate: Skiing requires practice.

3. To impose an obligation on; compel: The school requires all students to study mathematics.

[Middle English requiren, from Old French requerre, from Vulgar Latin *requaerere, alteration (influenced by quaerere, to seek) of Latin requīrere : re-, re- + quaerere, to seek.]

re·quira·ble adj.

re·quirer n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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