Etymology Dictionary

NEED,  necessity, distress.  (E.)   M.E. need, nede, Chaucer, C. T. 4523.—A.S. nýd, niéd, neád, néd; Grein, ii. 301. + Du. nood. + Icel. nauð. + Dan. and Swed. nöd. + Goth. nauths. + G. noth, O.H.G. nót.   β. The Teut. type is NAUDI (Fick, iii. 156), to be divided as nau-di.   The orig. sense is that of compulsion, or being driven or pushed about; cf. A.S. á-nýdan, to repel, drive away, force.   The base is NU, appearing in O.H.G. niuwan, M.H.G. niuwen, núen, to pound, to crush (orig. to drive, force), Wackernagel; and again, in Skt. nud (= nu-d), to push on, push away, drive.   Cf. Russ. nydite, to force; nyjda, need.   Der. need-ful, M.E. neodful, Ancren Riwle, p. 260, l. 10; need-less, need-less-ly, need-less-ness; need-y, M.E. nedy, P. Plowman, xx. 40, 41, 47, 48, 49, need-i-ly, need-i-ness.   Also need-s, adv., M.E. needes, nedes, Chaucer, C. T. 1171, where the final -es is an adverbial ending, orig. due to A.S. gen. cases in -es; but in this case nedes supplanted an older form nede, Layamon, l. 1051, which originated in A.S. nýde, gen. case of nýd, which was a fem. sb. with gen. in -e.