I. -ī(ə)r, -īə verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English requeren, requiren, from Middle French requerre (3d person singular present indicative requiert ), from (assumed) Vulgar Latin requaerere to need, seek for, inquire after, alteration (influenced by Latin quaerere to seek, ask) of Latin requirere, from re- . -quirere (from quaerere )
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to ask, request, or desire (a person) to do something
in humblest manner I require your Highness that it shall please you to declare — Shakespeare
when he was required, he … put forth his tongue — 2 Mach 7:10 (NCE)
2.
a. : to ask for authoritatively or imperatively : claim by right and authority : insist upon usually with certainty or urgency : demand , exact
this night your soul is required of you — Lk 12:20 (Revised Standard Version)
informed … that his lord required to speak with him — Sir Walter Scott
b. archaic : to ask for as a favor : request
they go commission'd to require a peace — John Dryden
3.
a. : to call for as suitable or appropriate in a particular case : need for some end or purpose
contributions to American art require more detailed treatment — American Guide Series: Minnesota
b. : to demand as necessary or essential (as on general principles or in order to comply with or satisfy some regulation) : make indispensable
the inference … is not absolutely required by the facts — Edward Sapir
no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification — U.S. Constitution
c. : to demand as a necessary help or aid : need as an essential : stand in urgent need of : need , want
growing children require more food
4. archaic : to search for as needed or wanted : seek after
the brave chiefs … wandering o'er the camp, required their lord — Alexander Pope
5. : to impose a compulsion or command upon (as a person) to do something : demand of (one) that something be done or some action taken : enjoin, command, or authoritatively insist (that someone do something)
a farmer will be required to comply with all acreage allotments — Nation's Business
6. : to feel or be under the necessity of (doing or being something specified) — used with a following infinitive
one does not require to be a specialist — Elizabeth Bowen
a candidate requires to hold a … certificate — Achievement in the Gold Coast
intransitive verb
1. archaic : to make request or demand : ask
they must … require of Heaven with upward eyes for all that they desire — John Keats
2. archaic : to be necessary or requisite
Synonyms: see demand , lack
II. noun
( -s )
archaic : requirement