because

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English bicause, from the phrase bi cause,^[2][3] formed from English by + cause,^[4][5][6][7] after Old French par cause de (“by reason of”).^[8][7][4][9] By is from Old English bī,^[8] and cause is from Old French cause, from Latin causa (“reason, cause, lawsuit”).^[10][8] The OED compares similar Anglo-Norman phrases of the 14th century and a Latin construction with the ablative of the Latin noun.^[5] The clipped form, with or without an apostrophe, is written from the mid-15th century,^[4] and appears in print in the 16th.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

For the reason that: about 1375, in Chaucer's Monk's Tale, "By cause Nero hadde of hym swich drede".^[2][3] The OED's first example is of because of, by reason of, in the early Wycliffite Bible (about 1384).^[5] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1275–1325.^[11]

Semantic evolution

At first the word was followed by of or by a clause introduced by that or why, as in the King James Bible's "because that Jesus was not yet glorified" (John 7:39, 1611); by the end of the 14th century that and why were already being dropped, leaving because as a conjunction.^[9] Because that lingered in archaic use until 1844.^[5] From 1485 to 1656 it could also mean "in order that",^[5][12] and with an infinitive, "in order to", from about 1400 to 1546.^[5] It has been followed by a clause without a verb ("because tired") since Sidney's Arcadia, before 1586.^[5] The bare reply because, or just because, holding back a fuller answer, is recorded from 1838,^[5] and since 1991 because has also been used colloquially before a single noun, adjective or interjection that stands for a whole reason.^[5] Johnson (1755) defined it "for this reason that".^[13] The noun, a reason given, dates from 1736.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1375 – conjunction, for the reason that, in Chaucer.^[2][3]
• c. 1384 – because of, by reason of.^[5]
• c. 1400 – with an infinitive, in order to (until 1546).^[5]
• 1485 – in order that (until 1656).^[5]
• 1736 – noun, a reason given.^[5]
• 1838 – just because, as a reply that withholds the reason.^[5]
• 1991 – colloquial, before a single word standing for a reason.^[5]

Meanings

Conjunction

1. For the reason that; since: We left early because the roads were icy.^[14][12][5]
2. Used alone as a reply, holding back a fuller reason: "Why not?" "Just because."^[5]
3. (colloquial) Followed by a single word that stands for a whole reason: We stayed in because rain.^[5]
4. (obsolete) In order that; so that.^[12][5]

Adverb

1. because of: on account of; by reason of: The match was called off because of the storm.^[14][5]

Noun

1. A reason given; an answer of "because".^[5]

Word family

• because of

Related words

• cause
• by

Usage notes

Because gives a direct reason, while as and since merely present attendant circumstances.^[11] For adds the reason almost as an afterthought, and the more formal inasmuch as suggests a concession.^[11] Ayto notes that the phrase the reason is because troubles purists today.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
11. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
12. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
14. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins