sine qua non

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

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

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌsaɪnɪ kweɪ ˈnɒn/, /ˌsɪn(e)ɪ kwɑː ˈnəʊn/, /ˌsɪn(e)ɪ kwɑː ˈnɒn/

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• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌsɪni kwɑ ˈnɑn/, /ˌsɪni kwɑ ˈnoʊn/, /ˌsaɪni kweɪ ˈnɑn/
• Rhymes: -ɒn, -əʊn

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

1. An essential or indispensable element, condition, or ingredient.

   Synonym: prerequisite

   • 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XXIX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 79:

     it is hardly likely he would have found any one so singularly interesting and fascinating as Margarita Riccardini; for the striking and animated beauty of her father was softened and relieved by that peculiar something, half modesty, and half pride, which is the characteristic of English loveliness, and which every Englishman requires as a sine qua non ere he resigns himself to a bondage it is the habit of his nature, or the result of his privileges, to admit reluctantly.

   • 1909, Arnold Bennett, chapter I, in Literary Taste: How to Form It:

     Literature, instead of being an accessory, is the fundamental sine qua non of complete living.

   • 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” […]

• sine qua non on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

sine qua non

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

• condition sine qua non

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

sine qua non (invariable)

1. (of a prerequisite) indispensable