Cause

Cause
Cause Cause (k[add]z), n. [F. cause, fr. L. causa. Cf. {Cause}, v., {Kickshaw}.] 1. That which produces or effects a result; that from which anything proceeds, and without which it would not exist. [1913 Webster]

Cause is substance exerting its power into act, to make one thing begin to be. --Locke. [1913 Webster]

2. That which is the occasion of an action or state; ground; reason; motive; as, cause for rejoicing. [1913 Webster]

3. Sake; interest; advantage. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

I did it not for his cause. --2 Cor. vii. 12. [1913 Webster]

4. (Law) 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. [1913 Webster]

5. Any subject of discussion or debate; matter; question; affair in general. [1913 Webster]

What counsel give you in this weighty cause! --Shak. [1913 Webster]

6. The side of a question, which is espoused, advocated, and upheld by a person or party; a principle which is advocated; that which a person or party seeks to attain. [1913 Webster]

God befriend us, as our cause is just. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

The part they take against me is from zeal to the cause. --Burke. [1913 Webster]

{Efficient cause}, the agent or force that produces a change or result.

{Final cause}, the end, design, or object, for which anything is done.

{Formal cause}, the elements of a conception which make the conception or the thing conceived to be what it is; or the idea viewed as a formative principle and co["o]perating with the matter.

{Material cause}, that of which anything is made.

{Proximate cause}. See under {Proximate}.

{To make common cause with}, to join with in purposes and aims. --Macaulay.

Syn: Origin; source; mainspring; motive; reason; incitement; inducement; purpose; object; suit; action. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • cause — 1 n 1: something that brings about an effect or result the negligent act which was the cause of the plaintiff s injury ◇ The cause of an injury must be proven in both tort and criminal cases. actual cause: cause in fact in this entry but–for… …   Law dictionary

  • cause — [ koz ] n. f. • XIIe; lat. causa « cause » et « procès » → chose I ♦ Ce qui produit un effet (considéré par rapport à cet effet). 1 ♦ (1170) Ce par quoi un événement, une action humaine arrive, se fait. ⇒ origine; motif, objet, raison, 3. sujet.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Cause — • Cause, as the correlative of effect, is understood as being that which in any way gives existence to, or contributes towards the existence of, any thing; which produces a result; to which the origin of any thing is to be ascribed Catholic… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • cause — CAUSE. s. f. Principe, ce qui fait qu une chose est. Dieu est la première de toutes les causes, la cause des causes, la souveraine cause, la cause universelle. On appelle Dieu, absolument et par excellence, Cause première, comme on appelle les… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • cause — Cause, qui fait faire quelque chose, Causa. La meilleure cause et la pire, Superior causa et inferior. B. ex Cicerone. Les causes durent tousjours et perseverent, Manent causae. Tu as ouy les causes de mon conseil, Audisti consilij mei motus. Par …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • cause — CAUSE. s. f. Principe, ce qui fait qu une chose est. Dieu est la premiere de toutes les causes, la cause des causes, la souveraine cause. On appelle Dieu absolument & par excellence, Cause premiere; comme on appelle les creatures Causes secondes …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • cause — cause, causal explanation In non specialist contexts, to ask for the cause of some particular happening is to ask what made it happen, or brought it about. To give a causal explanation is to answer such questions, usually by specifying some prior …   Dictionary of sociology

  • cause — n 1 Cause, determinant, antecedent, reason, occasion are comparable when denoting what in whole or in part produces an effect or result. Cause is applicable to an agent (as a circumstance, condition, event, or force) that contributes to the… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • cause — [kôz] n. [ME < OFr < L causa, a cause, reason, judicial process, lawsuit: infl. (in CAUSE senses 4 & 5) by CASE1] 1. anything producing an effect or result 2. a person or thing acting voluntarily or involuntarily as the agent that brings… …   English World dictionary

  • causé — causé, ée (kô zé, zée) part. passé. 1°   Produit par une cause. •   Toutes choses étant causées ou causantes, PASC. dans COUSIN. 2°   Occasionné. Un incendie causé par un accident. 3°   Motivé. •   M. de Bouillon voulait une absence, et une… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

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