noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˌsaɪnɪ kweɪ ˈnɒn/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˌsɪn(e)ɪ kwɑː ˈnəʊn/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˌsɪn(e)ɪ kwɑː ˈnɒn/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:/ˌsɪni kwɑ ˈnɑn/
US:/ˌsɪni kwɑ ˈnoʊn/
US:/ˌsaɪni kweɪ ˈnɑn/
rhymes with -ɒn
rhymes with -əʊn
1
noun
Meaning 1
An essential or indispensable element, condition, or ingredient.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: essential condition
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: prerequisite, requirement
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin [condiciō] sine quā nōn (“[condition] without which not”), an expression which originated in the works of Boethius as a translation of some Aristotelian expression (perhaps Ancient Greek οὗ οὐκ ἄνευ (hoû ouk áneu); compare also Modern Greek εκ των ων ουκ άνευ (ek ton on ouk ánef) / Katharevousa ἐκ τῶν ὧν οὐκ ἄνευ (ek tón ón ouk ánef)), and was later popularized by scholastics.
Across languages
Translations
42 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
لا بُدَّ منه
— prerequisite
Arabic:
شَرْط لَازِم
(šarṭ lāzim)
— prerequisite
Armenian:
անհրաժեշտ պայման
(anhražešt payman)
— prerequisite
