8 April 2018

exigency

[ek-si-juh n-see, ig-zij-uh n-]

noun, plural exigencies.

1. exigent state or character; urgency.
2. Usually, exigencies. the need, demand, or requirement intrinsic to a circumstance, condition, etc.:
the exigencies of city life.
3. a case or situation that demands prompt action or remedy; emergency:
He promised help in any exigency.

Also, exigence.

Origin of exigency

Medieval Latin

1575-1585 From the Medieval Latin word exigentia, dating back to 1575-85. See exigent, -ency
Synonyms

3. crisis, contingency, plight, strait; predicament, fix, pinch.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for exigency

Historical Examples

He could quiet the horses, but not a woman, in so vague an exigency.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown

His speaking was unequal, and always rose with the subject and the exigency.
Patrick Henry
Moses Coit Tyler

In this exigency the pirate desisted from his plan against the lady.
Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer
Cyrus Townsend Brady

Today’s quote

If we were to lose the ability to be emotional, if we were to lose the ability to be angry, to be outraged, we would be robots. And I refuse that.

– Arundhati Roy

On this day

8 April 1947 – birth of Larry Norman, pioneering Christian rock musician. Died 24 February 2008.

8 April 1861 – death of Elisha Graves Otis, American industrialist and founder of the Otis Elevator Company. In 1854, he put the finishing touches to his signature invention: a safety device to prevent elevators falling if the cable fails.