Cause
Pronunciation
Origin
From Middle English cause, from Old French cause ("a cause, a thing"), from Latin causa ("reason, sake, cause"), in Medieval Latin also "a thing". Origin uncertain. See accuse, excuse. Displaced native Middle English sake ("cause, reason") (from Old English sacu ("cause")), Middle English andweorc, andwork ("matter, cause") (from Old English andweorc ("matter, thing, cause")).
Full definition of cause
Noun
cause
(plural causes)- The source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result.Her wedding will be cause for celebration.They identified a burst pipe as the cause of the flooding.
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 5, 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.
- A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends.
- ShakespeareGod befriend us, as our cause is just.
- BurkeThe part they take against me is from zeal to the cause.
- (obsolete) Sake; interest; advantage.
- Bible, 2 Corinthians vii. 12I did it not for his cause.
- (obsolete) Any subject of discussion or debate; a matter; an affair.
- ShakespeareWhat counsel give you in this weighty cause?
- (legal) 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
Verb
- To set off an event or action.The lightning caused thunder.
- 1910, Emerson Hough, The Purchase Price Chapter 1, 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.
- 2013-06-01, A better waterworks, 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.
- To actively produce as a result, by means of force or authority.His dogged determination caused the fundraising to be successful.
- Bible, Genesis vii. 4I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days.
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 13, And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them. Soft heartedness caused more harm than good.
- To assign or show cause; to give a reason; to make excuse.