Meanings
nounnecessaire (plural necessaires)
plural necessaires · alternative nécessaire
- A small case for holding personal items, especially toiletries.
While this was being made they missed one boat, and, by the time it was ready, the sleuths were on their track – this unlucky medicine chest having played the same part that Marie Antoinette's nécessaire did in the escape to Varennes.
1945, Nancy Mitford, The Pursuit of Love, Penguin, published 2010, page 111
Origin
- Frenchnécessaire
- Englishnecessaire
From French nécessaire. Doublet of necessary.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
necessaire. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/necessaire
MLA
“necessaire.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/necessaire. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “necessaire,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/necessaire.
Source: necessaire on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.