if need be

Betekenis (Engels)

If necessary; if there is a need.

Concepten

desnoods

eventueel

c.q.

casu quo

Synoniemen

if necessary

additionally

incidentally

necessary

if ever

accessorily

if applicable

in addition

Vertalingen

si nécessaire

wenn es sein muss

accessoriamente

eventualmente

au besoin

se necessario

gegebenenfalls

notfalls

accesoriamente

accessoirement

si besoin est

semmai

se ci fosse bisogno

accessòriament

إذا

Etymologie (Engels)

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.