exigency

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English

Etymology

From Middle French exigence,[1] from Late Latin exigentia (urgency) (from exigēns + -ia), from exigere (to demand).

Pronunciation

Noun

exigency (countable and uncountable, plural exigencies)

  1. (chiefly in the plural) The demands or requirements of a situation.
    • 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Romance and Reality. , volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, , →OCLC, page 226:
      My business is with you, and you only. You should not have undertaken your office, unless prepared for its various exigencies.
    • 1940 July, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 408:
      [...] but these details I am compelled by exigencies of space to hold over until next month.
  2. An urgent situation, one requiring extreme effort or attention.

Synonyms

Translations

References

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “exigency”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Further reading