Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Needs in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels needs as adverb. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913adverb
Needs

[Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. -wards.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordneeds
Part of speechadverb
Historical etymology[Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. -wards.]
Selected historical definitionOf necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need.
Signed record IDwebster1913-needs-adverb-d3b35bdc7e7d
Source locatorCIDE.N, paragraph 1053; Gutenberg eBook 665
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 665Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "needs" is labeled adverb. Its etymology is recorded as: "[Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. -wards.]" The selected historical definition says: "Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-09-05

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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noun

Nothing

[From no, a. + thing.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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