sine qua non

See also: sinequanon and sine quâ non

English

WOTD – 17 October 2012

Alternative forms

• sinequanon
• sine quâ non [18^th c.–present]

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin [condiciō] sine quā nōn (“[condition] without which not”), originated in Aristotelian expressions as legal term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌsaɪnɪ kweɪ ˈnɒn/, /ˌsɪn(e)ɪ kwɑː ˈnəʊn/, /ˌsɪn(e)ɪ kwɑː ˈnɒn/
• IPA^(key): /ˌsɪni kwɑ ˈnɑn/, /ˌsɪni kwɑ ˈnoʊn/, /ˌsaɪni kweɪ ˈnɑn/
• Rhymes: -ɒn, -əʊn

Noun

sine qua non (plural sine qua nons or sine quibus non)

1. An essential or indispensable element, condition, or ingredient.
   • 2000, A. Przeworski, M. Alvarez, J. Cheibub, F. Limongi, Democracy and Development, Cambridge University Press, page 34:

     […] whereas some degree of political freedom is a sine qua non condition for contestation, democracy cannot be sufficiently defined in terms of “liberties” […]

   Synonym: prerequisite

Translations

prerequisite

• Arabic: شَرْط لَازِم m (šarṭ lāzim)
• Armenian: անհրաժեշտ պայման (anhražešt payman), էական պայման (ēakan payman), մի բան, առանց որի հնարավոր չէ (mi ban, aṙancʻ ori hnaravor čʻē)
• Catalan: condició indispensable f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 必要條件／必要条件 (zh) (bìyào tiáojiàn), 必要条件 (zh) (bìyào tiáojiàn), 不可或缺 (zh) (bù kě huò quē) (chengyu, adj.)

• Danish: absolut nødvendighed c, nødvendig betingelse c
• Estonian: sine qua non (et)
• Finnish: edellytys (fi), kynnyskysymys (fi)
• French: sine qua non (fr) m or f, sine quâ non (fr) m or f
• German: absolute Notwendigkeit f, notwendige Bedingung f, unerlässliche Voraussetzung f, Conditio sine qua non (de) f
• Greek: εκ των ων ουκ άνευ (el) n (ek ton on ouk ánef), απαραίτητη προϋπόθεση f (aparaítiti proÿpóthesi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: előfeltétel (hu)
• Italian: conditio sine qua non f, condicio sine qua non f
• Japanese: 必須条件 (ひっすじょうけん, hissujōken), 必要条件 (ja) (ひつようじょうけん, hitsuyōjōken), 要件 (ja) (ようけん, yōken)
• Korean: 불가결 (ko) (bulgagyeol), 필수조건 (pilsujogeon), 없어서는 안 될 것 (eopseoseoneun an doel geot)
• Polish: warunek sine qua non m, warunek niezbędny m
• Portuguese: sine qua non m
• Russian: обяза́тельное усло́вие n (objazátelʹnoje uslóvije), (соверше́нно) необходи́мое усло́вие n ((soveršénno) neobxodímoje uslóvije))
• Spanish: condición sine qua non f
• Swedish: ofrånkomligt villkor n, nödvändig förutsättning c, oeftergivligt villkor n
• Turkish: olmazsa olmaz
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• sine qua non on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin [condiciō] sine quā nōn (“[condition] without which not”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsinɨ kwɐ ˈnɔn/

Adjective

1. (of a prerequisite) indispensable