Requirement

How to spell requirement

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce requirement

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does requirement mean?

1. nounSomething that is needed or demanded as an essential condition.

Requirement in a sentence

• A valid passport is a strict requirement for international travel.

• The job listing set out every requirement for the role.

Where does requirement come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb quaerere, which meant 'to seek, ask, or strive after', the same root that gives us 'query', 'question', 'inquiry', and 'acquire'. With the prefix re- attached, the Latin requirere carried the sense of 'to seek again' or 'to ask for insistently'. English took the verb 'require' through Old French requerre during the 1300s, and the noun 'requirement' was built later in English by adding the native suffix -ment, which turns a verb into a noun naming the thing demanded. The spelling trap lives in the middle: that buried 'quir' comes straight from quaerere, so the silent-sounding 'i' in 're-QUIRE-ment' is preserved even though the stress in speech can flatten it. Knowing the family of 'inquire' and 'acquire' helps fix the 'quire' spine in place.

How the word is built

• re- (again, intensive)
• quir (from Latin quaerere: to seek, ask)
• -ment (noun suffix: result or means)