Require

How to spell require

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce require

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does require mean?

1. verbTo need something, or to make something obligatory or necessary.

Require in a sentence

• Most countries require a valid passport before boarding the flight.

• The recipe will require two cups of flour and a pinch of salt.

Where does require come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin requirere, meaning 'to seek again' or 'to ask for', built from the prefix re-, used here as an intensifier, and quaerere, which literally meant 'to seek, search for, or ask'. English took it during the 1300s through Old French requerre, at first carrying the sense of asking for something or seeking it out. Over time the meaning hardened from a polite request into a firm need or demand, which is how we use it today. The same Latin quaerere root still powers a whole family of English words, including 'question', 'inquire', 'quest', and 'acquire', all of which involve seeking or asking. Knowing that quire comes from quaerere helps explain the otherwise unexpected -quire spelling, where the qu carries the old 'seeking' root rather than a hard k sound.

How the word is built

• re- (again, intensive)
• quire (from Latin quaerere: to seek, ask)