Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Language: Late Latin
Origin: 'without which not'

sine qua non

 noun
     
si‧ne qua non [singular] formal
something that you must have, or which must exist, before something else can happen
sine qua non for/of
The control of inflation is a sine qua non for economic stability.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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