A note on Latin necessus

The Classical Latin , occurring approximately twenty-five times in manuscripts from 186 BC through the 15th century as the form , has resisted definitive analysis. We begin by reviewing proposed etymologies and suggest that a root in + − (a derivative of ) is the most defensible. Next we propose that is the oldest of the forms, predating in the . by approximately twenty years. While seems explainable through analogical replacement of the less common 3rd declension adjectival form with the more common 2nd declension one, encouraged by impersonal constructions, it is the form that requires more in-depth analysis. While reasonably a neuter like or , an analysis of the seven attested examples leads us to suggest the form is actually a masculine nominative elevated to semi-personal status through a linguistic tendency within Latin for personalization or “subjectivization.” Further, considering and , we find evidence of sociolinguistic and temporal trends, linked perhaps with Latin becoming an L2, within the forms' geographic and chronological distributions.