must

English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • (stressed) IPA(key): /mʌst/
  • (unstressed) IPA(key): /məs(t)/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ʌst
  • Homophone: mussed

Etymology 1

From Middle English moste (“must”, literally “had to”), from Old English mōste (“had to”), 1st & 3rd person singular past tense of mōtan (“to be allowed, be able to, have the opportunity to, be compelled to, must, may”). Cognate with Dutch moest (“had to”), German musste (“had to”), Swedish måste (“must, have to, be obliged to”). More at mote.

Verb

must

  1. (modal auxiliary, defective) To do with certainty; indicates that the speaker is certain that the subject will have executed the predicate.
    If it has rained all day, it must be very wet outside.
    You picked one of two, and it wasn't the first: it must have been the second.
  2. (modal auxiliary, defective) To do as a requirement; indicates that the sentence subject is required as an imperative or directive to execute the sentence predicate, with failure to do so resulting in a negative consequence.
    You must arrive in class on time. — the requirement is an imperative
    This door handle must be rotated fully. — the requirement is a directive
    Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. (Bible, Acts 9:6)
  3. (modal auxiliary, defective) said about something that is very likely, probable, or certain to be true
    The children must be asleep by now.
Usage notes
  • (auxiliary, to do with certainty): Compare with weaker auxiliary verb should, indicating a strong probability of the predicate's execution.
  • (auxiliary, to do as a requirement): Compare with weaker auxiliary verb should, indicating mere intent for the predicate's execution; and stronger auxiliary verb will, indicating that the negative consequence will be unusually severe.
  • The past tense of "must" is also "must"; however, this usage is almost always literary (see Fritz Leiber quotation below). The past sense is usually conveyed by had to. It is possible to use be bound to for the past also. For this reason, have to and be bound to are also used as alternatives to must in the present and future.
  • The principal verb, if easily supplied, may be omitted. In modern usage this is mainly literary (see Housman and Tolkien quotations below).
  • Must is unusual in its negation. Must not still expresses a definite certainty or requirement, with the predicate negated, it's the synonym of cannot. Need, on the other hand, is negated in the usual manner. Compare:
You must not read that book. (It is necessary that you not read that book.)
You need not read that book. (It is not necessary that you read that book.)
  • The second-person singular (thou being the subject) no longer adds -est (as it did in Old English).
Quotations
  • 1936, Alfred Edward Housman, More Poems, IX, lines 3-6
    Forth I wander, forth I must,
    And drink of life again.
    Forth I must by hedgerow bowers
    To look at the leaves uncurled
  • 1937 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
    We must away ere break of day
    To seek the pale enchanted gold.
  • 1968 Fritz Leiber, Swords in the Mist
    Whereupon while one patched or napped, the other must stand guard against inquisitive two- and three-headed dragons and even an occasional monocephalic.
Translations
See also
  • Appendix:English modal verbs
  • Appendix:English tag questions

Noun

must (plural musts)

  1. Something that is mandatory or required.
    If you'll be out all day, a map is a must.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Old French must, most, from Latin mustum

Noun

must (plural musts)

  1. The property of being stale or musty.
  2. Something that exhibits the property of being stale or musty.
  3. Fruit juice that will ferment or has fermented, usually grapes.
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
      No sweet grape lies hidden here in the shade of its vine-leaves,
      No fermenting must fills and o'erflows the deep vats.
Translations

Verb

must (third-person singular simple present musts, present participle musting, simple past and past participle musted)

  1. (transitive) To make musty.
  2. (intransitive) To become musty.
Further reading

Etymology 3

Persian مست‎ (mast, “drunk, inebriated”), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭮𐭲‎ (mast).

Noun

must (plural musts)

  1. A time during which male elephants exhibit increased levels of sexual activity and aggressiveness (also spelled musth).
    • 1936, George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant, an essay in the magazine New Writing:
      It was not, of course, a wild elephant, but a tame one which had gone ‘must’.
  2. An elephant in this sexual and aggressive state.

Anagrams

Dutch

must m (uncountable)

  1. necessity, prerequisite
    Een rijbewijs is een must als je taxichauffeur wil worden.
    A driver's license is a necessity if you want to be a taxi driver.

Estonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *musta.

Adjective

must (genitive musta, partitive musta)

  1. black (color)
  2. dirty, unclean

Declension

Derived terms

Hungarian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈmuʃt]
  • Hyphenation: must

Noun

must (plural mustok)

  1. must (sweet fresh grape juice that has not fermented yet)

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
singular plural
nominative must mustok
accusative mustot mustokat
dative mustnak mustoknak
instrumental musttal mustokkal
causal-final mustért mustokért
translative musttá mustokká
terminative mustig mustokig
essive-formal mustként mustokként
essive-modal — —
inessive mustban mustokban
superessive muston mustokon
adessive mustnál mustoknál
illative mustba mustokba
sublative mustra mustokra
allative musthoz mustokhoz
elative mustból mustokból
delative mustról mustokról
ablative musttól mustoktól
Possessive forms of must
possessor single possession multiple possessions
1st person sing. mustom mustjaim
2nd person sing. mustod mustjaid
3rd person sing. mustja mustjai
1st person plural mustunk mustjaink
2nd person plural mustotok mustjaitok
3rd person plural mustjuk mustjaik

Ludian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *musta.

Adjective

must

  1. black

Romanian

Etymology

From Latin mustum.

Noun

must n (plural musturi)

  1. unfermented wine; grape or other fruit juice
  2. must (of grapes)

Declension

See also

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse muster, moster, from Latin mustum.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mɵst/

Noun

must c (uncountable)

  1. A kind of soft drink, more commonly known as julmust
  2. Unfermented fruit juice

Declension

Declension of must 
Uncountable
Indefinite Definite
Nominative must musten — —
Genitive musts mustens — —

See also

Veps

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *musta.

Adjective

must

  1. black

Inflection

Inflection of must
nominative sing. must
genitive sing. mustan
partitive sing. mustad
partitive plur. mustid
singular plural
nominative must mustad
accusative mustan mustad
genitive mustan mustiden
partitive mustad mustid
essive-instructive mustan mustin
translative mustaks mustikš
inessive mustas mustiš
elative mustaspäi mustišpäi
illative ? mustihe
adessive mustal mustil
ablative mustalpäi mustilpäi
allative mustale mustile
abessive mustata mustita
comitative mustanke mustidenke
prolative mustadme mustidme
approximative I mustanno mustidenno
approximative II mustannoks mustidennoks
egressive mustannopäi mustidennopäi
terminative I ? mustihesai
terminative II mustalesai mustilesai
terminative III mustassai —
additive I ? mustihepäi
additive II mustalepäi mustilepäi

Derived terms

Noun

must

  1. black

Inflection

Inflection of must
nominative sing. must
genitive sing. mustan
partitive sing. mustad
partitive plur. mustid
singular plural
nominative must mustad
accusative mustan mustad
genitive mustan mustiden
partitive mustad mustid
essive-instructive mustan mustin
translative mustaks mustikš
inessive mustas mustiš
elative mustaspäi mustišpäi
illative ? mustihe
adessive mustal mustil
ablative mustalpäi mustilpäi
allative mustale mustile
abessive mustata mustita
comitative mustanke mustidenke
prolative mustadme mustidme
approximative I mustanno mustidenno
approximative II mustannoks mustidennoks
egressive mustannopäi mustidennopäi
terminative I ? mustihesai
terminative II mustalesai mustilesai
terminative III mustassai —
additive I ? mustihepäi
additive II mustalepäi mustilepäi

References

  • Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “чёрный”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary], Petrozavodsk: Periodika

Volapük

Noun

must (plural musts)

  1. must (new wine; sweet cider)

Declension

Võro

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *musta.

Adjective

must (genitive musta, partitive musta)

  1. black (colour)

Inflection

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