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cause

Pronunciation: /kɔːz/

The English word “cause” has 9 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. The source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result.
  2. Sufficient reason.
  3. A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends.
  4. Sake; interest; advantage.
  5. Any subject of discussion or debate; a matter; an affair.
  6. A suit or action in court; any legal process by which a party endeavors to obtain his claim, or what he regards as his right; case; ground of action.

verb

  1. To set off an event or action; to bring about; to produce.
  2. To actively produce as a result, by means of force or authority.
  3. To assign or show cause; to give a reason; to make excuse.

Etymology

* From Middle English cause (also with the sense of “a thing”), borrowed from Old French cause (“a cause, a thing”), borrowed from Latin causa (“reason, sake, cause”), from Proto-Italic *kaussā, which is of unknown origin. Doublet of chose (“(law) a thing; personal property”). See accuse, excuse, recuse, ruse. Displaced native Old English intinga. * From Middle English causen, Old French causer…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.