Etymologically
Log in

case

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 14 October 2026 at 22:10. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /keɪs/[1]

Etymology

In the sense “instance, situation” it is inherited from Middle English cas, borrowed from Old French cas (“event, happening, situation”),[2][3] from Latin cāsus (“a fall; chance, event”), from cās-, the past-participle stem of cadere (“to fall”),[3][4] from Proto-Indo-European *kad- (“to fall”).[2][5] The idea is that what happens is what “falls” (compare befall).[2] In grammar the Latin word translates Greek πτῶσις (ptôsis, “a falling”).[6][7][8] The sense “box, container” belongs to a separate word, Middle English casse, from Old North French casse (Old French chasse, modern French châsse (“reliquary”) and caisse (“chest”)),[9][10][2] from Latin capsa (“box, case for books”), from capere (“to take, hold”),[3][2][10] from Proto-Indo-European *kap- (“to grasp”).[2] Latin capsa is also behind capsule and cash,[11] and English chase “frame” is a doublet of case.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Something that happens to someone; a state of affairs (before 1250, in the Ancrene Riwle).[9][2]

Semantic evolution

Because a word for “what happens” could cover almost anything, case spread into many fields.[2] It meant “an instance, an example” from about 1300, “the actual state of affairs” (that is the case) from about 1400,[2][3] and in the late 14th century acquired its legal, medical and grammatical senses.[2][8] In case, “in the event”, dates from the mid-14th century.[2] An incident under police investigation has been a case since 1838, and American slang used case for an odd or remarkable person from 1848.[2] Weekley called it “a much overworked word”.[12] The other case, a container, is recorded before 1325 in the Cursor Mundi;[9] it was used of an outer covering from the late 14th century and of a frame from the 1660s, as in staircase.[2] Printers kept capital letters in the upper of their two type cases, hence upper case and lower case (1862).[2] The verb “to put in a case” is from 1575,[3][13] and the American criminal slang “to examine (a place) before robbing it” from 1915.[3][2][14]

Timeline

  • before 1250 – a state of affairs (Ancrene Riwle).[9]
  • c. 1300 – an instance, an example.[2][3]
  • before 1325 – a box or container (Cursor Mundi).[9]
  • mid-14th century – in case.[2]
  • late 14th century – a lawsuit; an instance of a disease; a grammatical case.[2]
  • c. 1400 – the actual state of affairs.[2]
  • 1575 – verb, to put in a case.[3][13]
  • 1660s – a frame, as in staircase.[2]
  • 1838 – a matter for police investigation.[2]
  • 1848 – (slang) an odd or remarkable person.[2]
  • 1862 – upper case, lower case.[2]
  • 1915 – verb, to examine a place before robbing it.[3][2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An instance or example of something: a case of mistaken identity.
  2. An occurrence of a disease or injury.
  3. A situation or set of circumstances: in that case.
  4. The actual state of affairs: that is not the case.
  5. A matter under investigation by the police.
  6. A lawsuit; the facts and arguments offered for one side.
  7. A set of arguments in support of something: the case for reform.
  8. A person treated by a doctor or social worker.
  9. (grammar) A form of a noun, pronoun or adjective showing its relation to other words.
  10. A container or protective covering: a pencil case.
  11. A box with its contents: a case of wine.
  12. (printing) A tray with compartments for type.

Verb

  1. To put in or cover with a case.
  2. (slang) To inspect (a place) in preparation for a robbery.

Word family

  • caseless
  • best-case
  • casebook
  • caseload
  • casework
  • caseworker
  • encase
  • casual
  • accident
  • capsule
  • cash
  • chase
  • casement

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  10. ^ a b Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  11. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  12. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  13. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  14. ^ Hendrickson, Robert (2008), The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, 4th ed., New York: Facts on File