if need be

Meaning

If necessary; if there is a need.

Synonyms

if necessary

additionally

incidentally

necessary

if ever

accessorily

if applicable

in addition

Translations

si nécessaire

eventualmente

au besoin

se necessario

gegebenenfalls

notfalls

accessoriamente

si besoin est

accessoirement

wenn es sein muss

accesoriamente

desnoods

se ci fosse bisogno

eventueel

c.q.

Etymology

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.