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sine qua non
[ sahy-nee kwey non, kwah, sin-ey; Latin si-ne kwah-nohn ]
noun
- an indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential:
Her presence was the sine qua non of every social event.
sine qua non
/ ˈsaɪnɪ kweɪ ˈnɒn /
noun
- an essential condition or requirement
sine qua non
- The essential, crucial, or indispensable ingredient without which something would be impossible: “Her leadership was the sine qua non of the organization's success.” From Latin , meaning “without which nothing.”
Word History and Origins
Origin of sine qua non1
Word History and Origins
Origin of sine qua non1
Idioms and Phrases
An essential element or condition, as in A perfect cake is the since qua non of a birthday party . This phrase is Latin for “without which not” and has been used in English since about 1600. It appears more in writing than in speech.Example Sentences
That accumulation of identities is already a sine qua non when speaking of Hispanics, like Zimmerman.
In the land of the industrial revolution, foreign ownership and management is the sine qua non of industrial success.
This unsmoked, wet-cured ham is the sine qua non of Parisian butcher shops: a light, ephemeral meat, sweet but umami.
It teaches you to take your time, or as the Germans call it, it gives you "Ruhe (repose)," the grand sine qua non!
The Plumb Plan has not yet been made the sine qua non of the American labor program.
I admit that slavery is at the root of the rebellion, or at least its sine qua non.
This self-deception is a necessary step in crowd-formation and is a sine qua non of becoming a crowd.
Ample light and air are a sine qua non; concealment appears to be a matter of no importance.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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