sine qua non

sine qua non

See also: sinequanon and sine quâ non

English

WOTD – 17 October 2012

Alternative forms

• sinequanon
• sine quâ non [18^th c.–present]

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin [condiciō] sine quā nōn (“[condition] without which not”), originated in Aristotelian expressions as legal term.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌsaɪnɪ kweɪ ˈnɒn/, /ˌsɪn(e)ɪ kwɑː ˈnəʊn/, /ˌsɪn(e)ɪ kwɑː ˈnɒn/

  • Audio (UK)

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  • Audio (UK)

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  • Audio (UK)

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• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌsɪni kwɑ ˈnɑn/, /ˌsɪni kwɑ ˈnoʊn/, /ˌsaɪni kweɪ ˈnɑn/
• Rhymes: -ɒn, -əʊn

Noun

sine qua non (plural sine qua nons or sine quibus non)

1. An essential or indispensable element, condition, or ingredient.

   Synonym: prerequisite

   • 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXIX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], OCLC 1000392275, page 79:

     it is hardly likely he would have found any one so singularly interesting and fascinating as Margarita Riccardini; for the striking and animated beauty of her father was softened and relieved by that peculiar something, half modesty, and half pride, which is the characteristic of English loveliness, and which every Englishman requires as a sine qua non ere he resigns himself to a bondage it is the habit of his nature, or the result of his privileges, to admit reluctantly.

   • 1909, Arnold Bennett, chapter I, in Literary Taste: How to Form It:

     Literature, instead of being an accessory, is the fundamental sine qua non of complete living.

   • 2000, A. Przeworski; M. Alvarez; J. Cheibub; F. Limongi, Democracy and Development, Cambridge University Press, page 34:

     […] whereas some degree of political freedom is a sine qua non condition for contestation, democracy cannot be sufficiently defined in terms of “liberties” […]

Translations

prerequisite

Arabic: شَرْط لَازِم‎ m (šarṭ lāzim) Armenian: անհրաժեշտ պայման (anhražešt payman), էական պայման (ēakan payman), մի բան, առանց որի հնարավոր չէ (mi ban, aṙancʿ ori hnaravor čʿē) Catalan: condició indispensable f Chinese: Mandarin: 必要條件／必要条件 (zh) (bìyào tiáojiàn), 不可或缺 (zh) (bù kě huò quē) (chengyu, adj.) Danish: absolut nødvendighed c, nødvendig betingelse c Estonian: sine qua non (et) Finnish: edellytys (fi), kynnyskysymys (fi) French: sine qua non (only in condition sine qua non) German: absolute Notwendigkeit f, notwendige Bedingung f, unerlässliche Voraussetzung f, Conditio sine qua non (de) f Greek: εκ των ων ουκ άνευ (el) n (ek ton on ouk ánef), απαραίτητη προϋπόθεση f (aparaítiti proÿpóthesi) Hungarian: előfeltétel (hu) Italian: conditio sine qua non f, condicio sine qua non f Japanese: 必須条件 (ひっすじょうけん, hissujōken), 必要条件 (ja) (ひつようじょうけん, hitsuyōjōken), 要件 (ja) (ようけん, yōken) Korean: 불가결 (ko) (bulgagyeol), 필수조건 (pilsujogeon), 없어서는 안 될 것 (eopseoseoneun an doel geot) Polish: warunek sine qua non m, warunek niezbędny m Portuguese: sine qua non m Russian: обяза́тельное усло́вие n (objazátelʹnoje uslóvije), (соверше́нно) необходи́мое усло́вие n ((soveršénno) neobxodímoje uslóvije)) Spanish: condición sine qua non f Swedish: ofrånkomligt villkor n, nödvändig förutsättning c, oeftergivligt villkor n Turkish: vazgeçilemez, olmazsa olmaz Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• sine qua non on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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French

Adverb

sine qua non

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Derived terms

• condition sine qua non

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Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin [condiciō] sine quā nōn (“[condition] without which not”).

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.nɨ kwɐ ˈnɔn/

Adjective

sine qua non (invariable)

1. (of a prerequisite) indispensable