Modern English → Old English
Old English word for need
10 headwords match “need”, ranked by the scoring in the data pipeline. The 10 strongest follow; nied ranks first.
-
need — force, compulsion
- listed as an English descendant
- has a full inflection table
Paradigm summary nominative singular nīed genitive singular nīede dative singular nīede accusative singular nīed, nīede nominative plural nīede, nīeda genitive plural nīeda -
need — need (+ genitive = "for" something)
- opens the headword's definition
- has a full inflection table
Paradigm summary nominative singular þearf genitive singular þearfe dative singular þearfe accusative singular þearfe nominative plural þearfa, þearfe genitive plural þearfa -
need — sorrowful need
- appears in the definition
- has a full inflection table
Paradigm summary nominative singular wēaþearf genitive singular wēaþearfe dative singular wēaþearfe accusative singular wēaþearfe nominative plural wēaþearfa, wēaþearfe genitive plural wēaþearfa -
need — desire, longing; zeal, eagerness, diligence, earnestness, earnest endeavor
- listed as an English descendant
- has a full inflection table
Paradigm summary nominative singular nēod genitive singular nēode dative singular nēode accusative singular nēode nominative plural nēoda, nēode genitive plural nēoda -
need — advantage, behoof, profit; need
- appears in the definition
- has a full inflection table
Paradigm summary nominative singular behōf genitive singular behōfes dative singular behōfe accusative singular behōf nominative plural behōf genitive plural behōfa -
need — poor, in need
- appears in the definition
- has a full inflection table
Paradigm summary strong nominative singular masculine wǣdla strong nominative singular feminine wǣdle strong nominative singular neuter wǣdle strong accusative singular masculine wǣdlan strong accusative singular feminine wǣdlan strong accusative singular neuter wǣdle -
need — to force
- listed as an English descendant
- has a full inflection table
- verb: derivation noise is possible
Paradigm summary first-person singular present indicative nīede first-person singular past indicative nīedde second-person singular present indicative nīedest, nīetst second-person singular past indicative nīeddest third-person singular present indicative nīedeþ, nīett, nīet third-person singular past indicative nīedde -
need — to be necessary
- listed as an English descendant
- has a full inflection table
- verb: derivation noise is possible
Paradigm summary first-person singular present indicative nēodiġe first-person singular past indicative nēodode second-person singular present indicative nēodast second-person singular past indicative nēododest third-person singular present indicative nēodaþ third-person singular past indicative nēodode -
need — a need of the soul
- appears in the definition
- has a full inflection table
Paradigm summary nominative singular sāwolþearf genitive singular sāwolþearfe dative singular sāwolþearfe accusative singular sāwolþearfe nominative plural sāwolþearfa, sāwolþearfe genitive plural sāwolþearfa -
need — lack, want
- has a full inflection table
Paradigm summary nominative singular gād genitive singular gāde dative singular gāde accusative singular gāde nominative plural gāda, gāde genitive plural gāda
How this ranking works
Scores are computed once, when the site is built, from the Wiktionary data. Every headword whose definitions mention “need” gets the points below; the candidates are then sorted by total. The score is shown on each entry above so the order can be checked rather than trusted.
| The English word opens the headword's definition | +10 |
| It appears later in the first definition | +6 |
| It appears in any definition | +3 |
| It is in the headword's links | +2 |
| It is listed as an English descendant (etymological evidence) | +9 |
| The headword has an inflection table | +3 |
| Part of speech is a proper noun | −5 |
| Part of speech is a verb (-ian derivations are noisy) | −3 |
| The headword is an alternative form | −6 |
| The first definition is longer than three words | −2 |
A candidate has to be a real headword with its own entry: inflected forms and grammatical terminology (genitive, nominative, preterite, …) never appear here.
Not one of these?
The match may be a different sense of “need”, or an inflected form rather than a headword. Look up the form directly — the entry page marks the grammatical case.
Candidates derived from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0). Each entry links to its source page. · CC BY-SA 4.0 and attribution · CC BY-SA 4.0