A.“ὁπόσου κα δῆ” IG4.1484.65 (Epid.), cf. SIG245G47 (Delph.); opt. “δέοι” Th.4.4; inf.δεῖν; part. δέον (v. infr. IV): impf. ἔδει, Ion. ἔδεε: fut. “δεήσει” E.Hipp.941, etc.: aor. I “ἐδέησε” Th.2.77, etc.—Impers. from δέω (A), there is need (the sense of moral obligation, prop. belonging to χρή, is later, S.Ph.583, etc.):
I. c.acc.pers.et inf., it is needful for one to do, one must, once in Hom., τί δὲ δεῖ πολεμιζέμεναι . . Ἀργείους why need the Argives fight? Il.9.337; “δ. <μ᾽> ἐλθεῖν” Pi.O.6.28, etc.: with nom. of the Pron., “ἡγούμην . . δεῖν . . μεγαλοψυχότερος φαίνεσθαι” D.19.235: rarely δεῖ σ᾽ ὅπως δείξεις, = δεῖ σε δεῖξαι, S.Aj.556, cf.Ph.54; “δεῖ σ᾽ ὅπως μηδὲν διοίσεις” Cratin.108; (the full constr. in S.Ph.77 τοῦτο δεῖ σοφισθῆναι . . ὅπως γενήσῃ): rarely c. dat. pers., there is need of . . for . ., “θεοῖσι προσβαλεῖν χθονὶ ἄλλην δεήσει γαῖαν” E.Hipp.941, cf. X.An.3.4.35, Oec.7.20: the acc. pers. is often omitted, ἐκ τῶν μανθάνειν δεῖ (sc. ἡμᾶς) Hdt.1.8, cf. A.Ag. 567, Eu.826, etc.
2. c. acc. rei et inf., “δεῖ τι γενέσθαι” Th.5.26; “παραδείγματα, καθ᾽ ἃ δέοι ἀποκρίνεσθαι” Pl.Men.79a, etc.; also ἐπεὶ δέ οἱ ἔδεε κακῶς γενέσθαι since it was fated for him . ., since he was doomed . ., Hdt.2.161, cf. 8.53, 9.109, S.OT825; for οἴομαι δεῖν, v. οἴομαι.
3. abs. with inf. understood, μὴ πεῖθ᾽ ἃ μὴ δεῖ (sc. πείθειν) S.OC1442, cf. OT1273; εἴ τι δέοι, ἤν τι δέῃ (sc. γενέσθαι), X. Mem.1.2.59, Th.1.44; κἂν δέῃ (sc. τροχάζειν）“, τροχάζῶ” Philetaer. 3.
II. c. gen. rei, there is need of, freq. with neg., “οὐδὲν ἂν δέοι πολλοῦ ἀργυρίου” Pl.Cri.45a, etc.; “τί δεῖ τῆς ἀρετῆς;” Arist.Pol.1309b10; sts. with inf. added, “μακροῦ λόγου δεῖ ταῦτ᾽ ἐπεξελθεῖν” A.Pr.870, cf. 875, Supp.407.
b. freq. in phrases, πολλοῦ δεῖ there wants much, far from it, ὀλίγου δεῖ there wants little, all but; in full c. inf., “πολλοῦ δεῖ οὕτως ἔχειν” Pl.Ap.35d; “τοὺς Πλαταιέας ἐλαχίστου ἐδέησε διαφθεῖραι [τὸ πῦρ]” Th.2.77; “πολλοῦ γε δεῖ, πολλοῦ γε καὶ δεῖ” Ar.Ach. 543, D.18.300, 21.71; τοῦ πλεῦνος αἰεὶ ἔδεε there was always further to travel, Hdt.4.43; “τοῦ παντὸς δεῖ” Luc.Merc.Cond.13: also ὀλίγου δεῖν abs., in same sense, Pl.Ap.22a, etc.; “μικροῦ δεῖν” D.27.29.
4. rarely with Subj. in nom., δεῖ μοί τι something is needful to me, “ἓν δεῖ μόνον μοι” E.Supp.594; “εἴ τι δέοι τῷ χορῷ” Antipho 6.12; “πρῶτον μὲν τοῦτο δεῖ, ὑπειληφέναι . .” D.10.15.
III. Med., δεῖται there is need, c. gen., “δεῖταί σοι τῆς αὐτῆς ἐρωτήσεως” Pl.Men.79c; “ὅσων δέοιτο” Aen.Tact.13.1; “ἑτέρου δεῖσθαι στρατηγοῦ νομίζων” Plu.Pel.26: c. inf., “ὥστε βραχἔ ἐμοὶ δεῖσθαι φράσαι” S.OC570 (codd.); “δεήσεται . . ἀναγράφεσθαι” Aen.Tact.31.9; “τήν μευ γλῶσσαν ἐκτεμεῖν δεῖται” Herod.6.41.
IV. neut. part. δέον ( δεῖν is dub. in Ar.Fr.220, Lys.14.7, cf. A.D.Adv.132.30, Hdn.Gr.2.328, al., Hsch.): abs., it being needful or fitting, Pl.Prt. 355d, etc.; οὐκ ἀπήντα, δέον, he did not appear in court, though he ought to have done so, D.21.90: c. inf., Ar.Nu.988; οὐδὲν δέον there being no need, Hdt.3.65, etc.: fut. “ὡς αὐτίκα δεῆσον διώκειν” X.Cyr.3.2.8: aor. “δεῆσαν” Plu.Fab.9, etc.: also δέον ἂν εἴη, = δέοι ἄν, Plb.2.37.5, etc.: less freq. gen. abs. δέοντος, c. acc. inf., Corn.ND17.
