cause

cause
—causable, adj. —causability, n. —causeless, adj. —causelessly, adv. —causelessness, n. —causer, n.
/kawz/, n., v., caused, causing.
n.
1. a person or thing that acts, happens, or exists in such a way that some specific thing happens as a result; the producer of an effect: You have been the cause of much anxiety. What was the cause of the accident?
2. the reason or motive for some human action: The good news was a cause for rejoicing.
3. good or sufficient reason: to complain without cause; to be dismissed for cause.
4. Law.
a. a ground of legal action; the matter over which a person goes to law.
b. a case for judicial decision.
5. any subject of discussion or debate.
6. a principle, ideal, goal, or movement to which a person or group is dedicated: the Socialist cause; the human rights cause.
7. the welfare of a person or group, seen as a subject of concern: support for the cause of the American Indian.
8. Philos.
a. the end or purpose for which a thing is done or produced.
b. Aristotelianism. any of the four things necessary for the movement or the coming into being of a thing, namely a material (material cause), something to act upon it (efficient cause), a form taken by the movement or development (formal cause), and a goal or purpose (final cause).
9. make common cause, to unite in a joint effort; work together for the same end: They made common cause with neighboring countries and succeeded in reducing tariffs.
v.t.
10. to be the cause of; bring about.
[1175-1225; ME < L causa reason, sake, case]
Syn. 1. CAUSE, OCCASION refer to the starting of effects into motion. A CAUSE is an agency, perhaps acting through a long time, or a long-standing situation, that produces an effect: The cause of the quarrel between the two men was jealousy. An OCCASION is an event that provides an opportunity for the effect to become evident, or perhaps promotes its becoming evident: The occasion was the fact that one man's wages were increased. 3. See reason. 10. effect, make, create, produce.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • cause — 1 n 1: something that brings about an effect or result the negligent act which was the cause of the plaintiff s injury ◇ The cause of an injury must be proven in both tort and criminal cases. actual cause: cause in fact in this entry but–for… …   Law dictionary

  • cause — [ koz ] n. f. • XIIe; lat. causa « cause » et « procès » → chose I ♦ Ce qui produit un effet (considéré par rapport à cet effet). 1 ♦ (1170) Ce par quoi un événement, une action humaine arrive, se fait. ⇒ origine; motif, objet, raison, 3. sujet.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Cause — • Cause, as the correlative of effect, is understood as being that which in any way gives existence to, or contributes towards the existence of, any thing; which produces a result; to which the origin of any thing is to be ascribed Catholic… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • cause — CAUSE. s. f. Principe, ce qui fait qu une chose est. Dieu est la première de toutes les causes, la cause des causes, la souveraine cause, la cause universelle. On appelle Dieu, absolument et par excellence, Cause première, comme on appelle les… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • cause — Cause, qui fait faire quelque chose, Causa. La meilleure cause et la pire, Superior causa et inferior. B. ex Cicerone. Les causes durent tousjours et perseverent, Manent causae. Tu as ouy les causes de mon conseil, Audisti consilij mei motus. Par …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • cause — CAUSE. s. f. Principe, ce qui fait qu une chose est. Dieu est la premiere de toutes les causes, la cause des causes, la souveraine cause. On appelle Dieu absolument & par excellence, Cause premiere; comme on appelle les creatures Causes secondes …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Cause — (k[add]z), n. [F. cause, fr. L. causa. Cf. {Cause}, v., {Kickshaw}.] 1. That which produces or effects a result; that from which anything proceeds, and without which it would not exist. [1913 Webster] Cause is substance exerting its power into… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cause — cause, causal explanation In non specialist contexts, to ask for the cause of some particular happening is to ask what made it happen, or brought it about. To give a causal explanation is to answer such questions, usually by specifying some prior …   Dictionary of sociology

  • cause — n 1 Cause, determinant, antecedent, reason, occasion are comparable when denoting what in whole or in part produces an effect or result. Cause is applicable to an agent (as a circumstance, condition, event, or force) that contributes to the… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • cause — [kôz] n. [ME < OFr < L causa, a cause, reason, judicial process, lawsuit: infl. (in CAUSE senses 4 & 5) by CASE1] 1. anything producing an effect or result 2. a person or thing acting voluntarily or involuntarily as the agent that brings… …   English World dictionary

  • causé — causé, ée (kô zé, zée) part. passé. 1°   Produit par une cause. •   Toutes choses étant causées ou causantes, PASC. dans COUSIN. 2°   Occasionné. Un incendie causé par un accident. 3°   Motivé. •   M. de Bouillon voulait une absence, et une… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

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