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noun, masculine

besoin

/bə.zwɛ̃/

noun, masculine/bə.zwɛ̃/plural: besoins

need; want (state of being in need)

Inherited from Middle French, Old French besoing; can be seen as a masculine variant of besogne, from Old French besonge, from Old Frankish *bisunnija, from *sunnijōn (“to look after”) (whence soigner), possibly through a Vulgar Latin intermediate *bisonium. Compare Italian bisogno.