if need be

副词 adv.
中文释义

英文释义

副词 adv.
  1. If necessary; if there is a need. idiomatic
    — And I am quite sure that Max Carrados won't walk in here without making it certain that if he doesn't soon come out again the C.I.D. will smash down the door if need be to find out what has happened.

词形变化

if needs be alternative

词源

Need is a noun, be a subjunctive. Perhaps an alteration of Old English phrases like ġif þearf bēo, literally "if need be". That phrase would have been completely unidiomatic, equivalent to "if a need exists" or "if there is a need". This is because (1) Old English had no indefinite article, (2) the word for "to be" was also the default word for "to exist" and translates the modern phrase "there is", and (3) the subjunctive mood was much more common and often translates the Modern English indicative.
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