cause English · revision 2494

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1200 (Ancrene Riwle)|origins=la causa}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /kɔːz/, US /kɑːz/, /kɔːz/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|cause]], [[bor|fro|cause|t=cause, reason; lawsuit]] and directly [[bor|la|causa|t=a cause, reason; a lawsuit]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which is of uncertain origin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) Klein and Merriam-Webster suggest a link with [[m|la|cūdere|t=to strike, beat]].^(Klein 1966)^(MWU 2024) Old French ''cause'' was a learned form, and the popular Old French descendant of ''causa'' is [[m|fro|chose|t=thing]].^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[because]], [[accuse]], [[excuse]], [[recusant]] and [[kickshaw]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A reason, matter or motive, grounds for action: probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 13th century ''cause'' was also a lawsuit,^(Hoad 1986)^(HTOED) and by about 1300 a side taken in a dispute, a cause one supports.^(Etymonline) The philosophical sense “that which produces an effect” is from the mid-14th century,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and “good reason, justification” from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The verb appears about 1385, in Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales'',^(Barnhart 1988) from the noun or from Old French ''causer'' and Medieval Latin ''causāre'';^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) classical Latin ''causārī'' meant “to plead, debate”.^(Etymonline) ''Causative'' is from about 1412,^(Barnhart 1988) ''causal'' from the 16th century and ''causality'' and ''causation'' from the 17th.^(Hoad 1986) ''Common cause'' is from the 1620s, and ''cause célèbre'', from French, from 1763.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1200 – a reason, motive (''Ancrene Riwle'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 13th century – a lawsuit.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * c. 1300 – a side in a dispute.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-14th century – that which produces an effect.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1385 – verb (Chaucer).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1412 – ''causative''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1620s – ''common cause''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1763 – ''cause célèbre''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # That which produces an effect or result.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A person or thing responsible for an action or result.^(AHD)

+ # A reason or ground for action: ''no cause for alarm''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A goal or principle pursued with zeal.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # The interests of a person or group in a struggle.^(AHD)

+ # ''(law)'' A [[lawsuit]] or case.^(AHD)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To be the cause of; to bring about.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To make or compel someone to do something.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[causable]]

+ * [[causeless]]

+ * [[causer]]

+ * [[causability]]

+ * [[causelessly]]

+ * [[causelessness]]

+ * [[because]]

+ * [[undercause]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[accuse]]

+ * [[excuse]]

+ * [[causal]]

+ * [[causation]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary distinguishes ''cause'', ''reason'', ''occasion'' and ''antecedent'': a cause brings about an effect, a reason explains it, and an occasion lets existing causes come into play.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}