Requirements

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈkwʌɪəm(ə)nts/

Definitions

1. Conditions or criteria that must be satisfied in order to achieve a certain objective
2. Essential factors or stipulations that are necessary for a particular process or activity to occur successfully
3. Conditions that need to be met to accomplish a goal

Etymology: "Requirements" is the plural of "requirement", which is simply "require" with the suffix "-ment" attached. The suffix comes from Latin "-mentum", which formed nouns naming a result or means of an action, and it reached English through Old French "-ment". The verb "require" came into English from Old French "requerre", which itself grew out of Latin "requirere", "to seek again" or "to ask for", built from "re-" and "quaerere", "to seek". The sense of a demand, a need that must be met, is therefore a step away from the original idea of seeking something back. The plural form matters here. A "requirement" is one demand or condition, and "requirements" is the usual way to refer to a whole set of them, as in a list of conditions a job, course, or contract must satisfy. The noun has kept the sense of asking for something that the verb carried from its Latin beginnings.

Synonyms: necessities, prerequisites, conditions, specifications, criteria

Antonyms: options, preferences, discretion, freedoms, liberties