if need be

Significat (Anglès)

If necessary; if there is a need.

Conceptes

accessòriament

si cal

Sinònims

if necessary

additionally

incidentally

necessary

if ever

accessorily

if applicable

in addition

Traduccions

si nécessaire

eventualmente

au besoin

se necessario

gegebenenfalls

notfalls

accessoriamente

si besoin est

accessoirement

wenn es sein muss

accesoriamente

desnoods

c.q.

casu quo

accessòriament

Etimologia (Anglès)

Need is a noun, be a subjunctive. Perhaps an alteration of Old English phrases like ġif þearf bēo, literally “if need be.” That phrase would have been completely unidiomatic, equivalent to “if a need exists” or “if there is a need.” This is because (1) Old English had no indefinite article, (2) the word for "to be" was also the default word for "to exist" and translates the modern phrase "there is," and (3) the subjunctive mood was much more common and often translates the Modern English indicative.