cause
pronunciation
How to pronounce cause in British English:
UK [kɔːz]
How to pronounce cause in American English:
US [kɔːz]
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- Noun:
- events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
- a justification for something existing or happening
- a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end
- any entity that causes events to happen
- a comprehensive term for any proceeding in a court of law whereby an individual seeks a legal remedy
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- Verb:
- give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally
- cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner
Word Origin
- cause
- cause: [13] Cause comes via Old French cause from Latin causa, which as well as ‘reason’ meant ‘law-suit’; this was carried over into English legal language (it survives in terms such as cause-list ‘list of cases to be tried’) and its use in expressions like ‘plead someone’s cause’ led in the late 16th century to a more general application ‘goal or principle pursued or supported’. French chose ‘thing’ also comes from Latin causa, in the weakened sense ‘matter, subject’.=> excuse
- cause (n.)
- c. 1200, "reason for action, grounds for action; motive," from Old French cause "cause, reason; lawsuit, case in law" (12c.), and directly from Latin causa "a cause; a reason; interest; judicial process, lawsuit," which is of unknown origin. In English, sense of "matter of concern; side taken in controversy" is from c. 1300; that of "the source of an effect" is early 14c.; meaning "reason for something taking place" is late 14c. Cause célèbre "celebrated legal case" is 1763, from French. Cause why? "for what reason?" is in Chaucer.
- cause (v.)
- late 14c., "produce an effect," also "impel, compel," from Old French causer "to cause" (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin causare, from Latin causa "a cause; a reason; interest; judicial process, lawsuit," which is of unknown origin. Related: Caused; causing. Classical Latin causari meant "to plead, to debate a question."
Antonym
Example
- 1. This will cause direct friction .
- 2. The rashes rarely cause death .
- 3. The proximate cause is tortuous .
- 4. Allergies cause heaps of trouble .
- 5. Social networking does not cause cancer .