cause

Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: 'cause and causé

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English cause (also with the sense of “a thing”), borrowed from Old French cause (“a cause, a thing”), from Latin causa (“reason, sake, cause”), from Proto-Italic *kaussā, which is of unknown origin. See accuse, excuse, recuse, ruse. Displaced native Old English intinga.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

cause (countable and uncountable, plural causes)

  1. (countable, often with of, typically of adverse results) The source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result.
    They identified a burst pipe as the cause of the flooding.
    • 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i], page 23, column 1:
      We thanke you both, yet one but flatters vs,
      As well appeareth by the cauſe you come,
      Namely, to appeale each other of high treaſon.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 5, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:cause
  2. (uncountable, especially with for and a bare noun) Sufficient reason for a state, as of emotion.
    There is no cause for alarm.
    The end of the war was a cause for celebration.
    Synonyms: grounds, justification
  3. (countable) A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:goal
  4. (obsolete) Sake; interest; advantage.
  5. (countable, obsolete) Any subject of discussion or debate; a matter; an affair.
  6. (countable, law) A suit or action in court; any legal process by which a party endeavors to obtain his claim, or what he regards as his right; case; ground of action.

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also[edit]

Verb[edit]

cause (third-person singular simple present causes, present participle causing, simple past and past participle caused)

  1. (transitive) To set off an event or action.
    The lightning caused thunder.
    • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 639762314:
      Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. […] She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.
    • 2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist‎[1], volume 407, number 8838, page 5 (Technology Quarterly):
      An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic […] real kidneys […]. But they are nothing like as efficient, and can cause bleeding, clotting and infection—not to mention inconvenience for patients, who typically need to be hooked up to one three times a week for hours at a time.
  2. (ditransitive) To actively produce as a result, by means of force or authority.
    His dogged determination caused the fundraising to be successful.
  3. (obsolete) To assign or show cause; to give a reason; to make excuse.

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

cause

  1. Alternative form of 'cause; because

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Asturian[edit]

Verb[edit]

cause

  1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive of causar

French[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old French cause, borrowed from Classical Latin causa. Compare chose, an inherited doublet.

Noun[edit]

cause f (plural causes)

  1. cause
    Antonym: conséquence
  2. (law) case (a legal proceeding)
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb[edit]

cause

  1. inflection of causer:
    1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Italian[edit]

Noun[edit]

cause f pl

  1. plural of causa

Anagrams[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Old French cause.

Noun[edit]

cause (plural causes)

  1. cause

Descendants[edit]

  • English: cause

Norman[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French cause, borrowed from Latin causa.

Noun[edit]

cause f (plural causes)

  1. (Jersey, law) case

Old French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin causa, whence the inherited chose.

Noun[edit]

cause f (oblique plural causes, nominative singular cause, nominative plural causes)

  1. cause
    • 1377, Bernard de Gordon, Fleur de lis de medecine (a.k.a. lilium medicine), page 142 of this essay:
      On doit avoir plusieurs entencions, car en curant, on doit bien considerer la cause et la nature de la maladie
      One must have several intentions, because in treating, one must consider the cause and the nature of the disease

Descendants[edit]

Portuguese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): (Brazil) /ˈkaw.zi/, [ˈkaʊ̯.zi]
  • IPA(key): (Portugal) /ˈkaw.zɨ/, [ˈkaʊ̯.zɨ]

Verb[edit]

cause

  1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of causar
  2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of causar
  3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of causar
  4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of causar

Spanish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈkause/, [ˈkau̯.se]

Verb[edit]

cause

  1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of causar.
  2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of causar.
  3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of causar.
  4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of causar.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=cause&oldid=65975108"