Etymologically
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cause

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Pronunciation

Forms

cause f (plural causes)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin causa (“reason, motive; lawsuit, case”).[2][3][4][5][6][1] The Latin word is of unknown origin, perhaps pre-Latin or borrowed; the sense “motive” seems older than the legal sense “interest of a party, case”, and in law it was modelled on Ancient Greek αἰτία (aitía).[3] Often joined with “res” “matter”, “causa” gradually came to mean “thing” itself, whence the inherited doublet chose.[3][1][7] The same word is behind accuser, excuser and récuser.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1120 in the Cambridge Psalter, in fere la cause de “to take up someone's case, do them justice”; about 1165–1170 Benoît de Sainte-Maure uses it for a lawsuit.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The legal sense gave many phrases: être en cause and mettre en cause (1718), donner gain de cause (1796–1797), en désespoir de cause (about 1820) and hors de cause.[2][3] After Latin “a person's interests”, it came to mean a cause one supports (Pathelin, 1465), with cause perdue (late 15th century), prendre fait et cause, faire cause commune (1787) and les besoins de la cause.[2][3]

The sense “motive, reason” is a Latinism of about 1170, with être cause de (1174), à cause de (1348) and pour cause de (1803); à cause que “because”, replaced by parce que in Europe, survives in Canada.[3] The philosophical “that which produces an effect” is in Oresme (about 1370), and cause efficiente from 1541.[3][8] The verb causer “to cause” dates from about 1271.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1120 – Fere la cause de in the Cambridge Psalter.[2]
  • 1165–1170 – “Lawsuit”, in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[2]
  • c. 1170 – “Reason, motive”.[3]
  • 1348 – À cause de.[3]
  • c. 1370 – Philosophical cause, in Oresme.[3]
  • 1465 – “Someone's interests”, in Pathelin.[2]
  • 1718 – Mettre en cause, in the Académie dictionary.[2]
  • 1787 – Faire cause commune, in Mme de Staël.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A cause, reason: la cause de l'accident, à cause de: because of.[9][1]
  2. (philosophy) That which produces an effect: cause première, cause finale.[8]
  3. (law) A case, lawsuit: plaider une cause, en cause: at issue.[1][2]
  4. A cause one supports: une cause perdue, faire cause commune.[2][3]
  5. Et pour cause: and with good reason, en connaissance de cause: knowingly.[1][10]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 542a
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF