Etymology

needful

need·ful
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Today it means: Needed; necessary; mandatory; requisite; indispensable. Full definition →

Middle English nedeful ← Old English nēodful ← Proto-Germanic *fullaz
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*neh₂w-
  2. Proto-Germanic*naudiz
  3. Proto-West Germanic*naudi
  4. Old Englishnīed
  5. Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*pl̥h₁nós
  7. Proto-Germanic*fullaz
  8. Old Englishnēodful
  9. Middle Englishnedeful
  10. English todayneedful

From Middle English needeful, nedeful, from Old English nēodful (“necessary; earnest; zealous”). Equivalent to need + -ful. Cognate with Dutch noodvol, German notvoll.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.