Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An essential element or condition.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Something absolutely necessary or indispensable; an indispensable condition: as, he made the presence of a witness a sine qua non; used attributively, indispensable; necessary.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
essential orindispensable element ,condition , or ingredient.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a prerequisite
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Late Latin sine quā (causā) nōn, without which (cause) not : Latin sine, without + Latin quā : feminine ablative of quī, which + Latin nōn, not.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Latin sine qua non, “without which [cause] not”
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word sine qua non.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
thevirils commented on the word sine qua non
Latin legal term for "(a condition) without which it could not be" or "but for..." or "without which (there is) nothing." It refers to an indispensable and essential action, condition, or ingredient.
October 4, 2008