Adjacent Words

Cause definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CAUSE, n. s as z.
1. A suit or action in court; any legal process which a party institutes to obtain his demand, or by which he seeks his right or his supposed right. This is a legal, scriptural and popular use of the word, coinciding nearly with case from cado, and action from ago, to urge or drive.
The cause of both parties shall come before the judges. Exodus 22.
2. That which produces an effect; that which impels into existence, or by its agency or operation produces what did not before exist; that by virtue of which any thing is done; that from which any thing proceeds, and without which it would not exist.
Cause is a substance exerting its power into act, to make a thing begin to be.
3. The reason or motive that urges, moves, or impels the mind to act or decide.
For this cause have I raised up Pharaoh. Exodus 9.
And David said, is there not a cause? 2 Samuel 17.
4. Sake; account.
I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong. 2 Corinthians 6. [See Sake.]
5. That which a party or nation pursues; or rather pursuit, prosecution of an object. We say, Bible Societies are engaged in a noble cause. [See the first definition.] Hence the word cause is used to denote that which a person or thing favors; that to which the efforts of an intelligent being are directed; as, to promote religion is to advance the cause of God. So we say, the cause of truth or of justice. In all its applications, cause retains something of its original meaning, struggle, impelling force, contest, effort to obtain or to effect something.
6. Without cause, without good reason; without a reason or motive to justify the act.
They hate me without cause. Psa
35:69.
CAUSE, v.t.
1. To produce; to bring into existence.
They caused great joy to all the brethren. Acts 15.
2. To effect by agency, power or influence.
I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days. Genesis 7.
I will cause him to fall by the sword. 2 Kings 19.
CAUSE, v.i. To assign insufficient cause.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something; "they are trying to determine the cause of the crash"
2: a justification for something existing or happening; "he had no cause to complain"; "they had good reason to rejoice" [syn: cause, reason, grounds]
3: a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end; "he supported populist campaigns"; "they worked in the cause of world peace"; "the team was ready for a drive toward the pennant"; "the movement to end slavery"; "contributed to the war effort" [syn: campaign, cause, crusade, drive, movement, effort]
4: any entity that produces an effect or is responsible for events or results [syn: causal agent, cause, causal agency]
5: a comprehensive term for any proceeding in a court of law whereby an individual seeks a legal remedy; "the family brought suit against the landlord" [syn: lawsuit, suit, case, cause, causa] v
1: give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally; "cause a commotion"; "make a stir"; "cause an accident" [syn: cause, do, make]
2: cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner; "The ads induced me to buy a VCR"; "My children finally got me to buy a computer"; "My wife made me buy a new sofa" [syn: induce, stimulate, cause, have, get, make]

Merriam Webster's

conjunction Date: 15th century because

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin causa Date: 13th century 1. a. a reason for an action or condition ; motive b. something that brings about an effect or a result c. a person or thing that is the occasion of an action or state; especially an agent that brings something about d. sufficient reason <discharged for cause> 2. a. a ground of legal action b. case 3. a matter or question to be decided 4. a. a principle or movement militantly defended or supported b. a charitable undertaking <for a good cause> • causeless adjective II. transitive verb (caused; causing) Date: 14th century 1. to serve as a cause or occasion of <cause an accident> 2. to compel by command, authority, or force <caused him to resign> • causer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a that which produces an effect, or gives rise to an action, phenomenon, or condition. b a person or thing that occasions something. c a reason or motive; a ground that may be held to justify something (no cause for complaint). 2 a reason adjudged adequate (show cause). 3 a principle, belief, or purpose which is advocated or supported (faithful to the cause). 4 a a matter to be settled at law. b an individual's case offered at law (plead a cause). 5 the side taken by any party in a dispute. --v.tr. 1 be the cause of, produce, make happen (caused a commotion). 2 (foll. by to + infin.) induce (caused me to smile; caused it to be done). Phrases and idioms: in the cause of to maintain, defend, or support (in the cause of justice). make common cause with join the side of. Derivatives: causable adj. causeless adj. causer n. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L causa

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Shine Shine, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Shone (? or ?; 277) (archaic Shined); p. pr. & vb. n. Shining.] [OE. shinen, schinen, AS. sc[=i]nan; akin to D. schijnen, OFries. sk[=i]na, OS. & OHG. sc[=i]nan, G. scheinen, Icel. sk[=i]na, Sw. skina, Dan. skinne, Goth. skeinan, and perh. to Gr. ??? shadow. [root]157. Cf. Sheer pure, and Shimmer.] 1. To emit rays of light; to give light; to beam with steady radiance; to exhibit brightness or splendor; as, the sun shines by day; the moon shines by night. Hyperion's quickening fire doth shine. --Shak. God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Cghrist. --2 Cor. iv. 6. Let thine eyes shine forth in their full luster. --Denham. 2. To be bright by reflection of light; to gleam; to be glossy; as, to shine like polished silver. 3. To be effulgent in splendor or beauty. ``So proud she shined in her princely state.'' --Spenser. Once brightest shined this child of heat and air. --Pope. 4. To be eminent, conspicuous, or distinguished; to exhibit brilliant intellectual powers; as, to shine in courts; to shine in conversation. Few are qualified to shine in company; but it in most men's power to be agreeable. --Swift. To make, or cause, the face to shine upon, to be propitious to; to be gracious to. --Num. vi. 25.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. Cause is substance exerting its power into act, to make one thing begin to be. --Locke. 2. That which is the occasion of an action or state; ground; reason; motive; as, cause for rejoicing. 3. Sake; interest; advantage. [Obs.] I did it not for his cause. --2 Cor. vii. 12. 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. 5. Any subject of discussion or debate; matter; question; affair in general. What counsel give you in this weighty cause! --Shak. 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. God befriend us, as our cause is just. --Shak. The part they take against me is from zeal to the cause. --Burke. 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cause Cause, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Caused; p. pr. & v. n. Causing.] [F. causer, fr. cause, fr. L. causa. See Cause, n., and cf. Acouse.] To effect as an agent; to produce; to be the occasion of; to bring about; to bring into existence; to make; -- usually followed by an infinitive, sometimes by that with a finite verb. I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days. --Gen. vii. 4. Cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans. --Col. iv. 16. Syn: To create; produce; beget; effect; occasion; originate; induce; bring about.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cause Cause, v. i. To assign or show cause; to give a reason; to make excuse. [Obs.] --Spenser.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cause Cause, conj. Abbreviation of Because. --B. Jonson.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(causes, causing, caused) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. The cause of an event, usually a bad event, is the thing that makes it happen. Smoking is the biggest preventable cause of death and disease... The causes are a complex blend of local and national tensions. ? effect N-COUNT: oft N of n 2. To cause something, usually something bad, means to make it happen. Attempts to limit family size among some minorities are likely to cause problems... This was a genuine mistake, but it did cause me some worry. ...a protein that gets into animal cells and attacks other proteins, causing disease to spread. ...the damage to Romanian democracy caused by events of the past few days. VERB: V n, V n n, V n to-inf, V-ed 3. If you have cause for a particular feeling or action, you have good reasons for feeling it or doing it. Only a few people can find any cause for celebration... Both had much cause to be grateful for the secretiveness of government in Britain. = reason N-UNCOUNT: N for n, N to-inf 4. A cause is an aim or principle which a group of people supports or is fighting for. Refusing to have one leader has not helped the cause. N-COUNT see also lost cause 5. You use cause and effect to talk about the way in which one thing is caused by another. ...fundamental laws of biological cause and effect. PHRASE 6. If you say that something is in a good cause or for a good cause, you mean that it is worth doing or giving to because it will help other people, for example by raising money for charity. The Raleigh International Bike Ride is open to anyone who wants to raise money for a good cause. PHRASE

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

kos: In both the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "for this cause" (the King James Version "cause") occurs in Ex 9:16 as the rendering of ba`abhur zo'th = "in order that"; "to the end that"; so also in Da 2:12 for kol-qebhel denah, and in 2Ch 32:20 the King James Version for `al-zo'th, where RVS read "because of." In the New Testament the word is used adverbially in the translation of several Greek phrases: heneka toutou (Mt 19:5; Mr 10:7); dia touto, Joh 12:27; Ro 1:26; 13:6; 15:9 (the Revised Version (British and American) "therefore"); 1Co 11:30; 1Th 2:13; 2Th 2:11; 1Ti 1:16; Hebrews 9:15; eis touto, Joh 18:37 (where the King James Version varying the phraseology reads "to this end" "for this cause"); 1Pe 4:6 the King James Version; toutou charin, Eph 3:14. Unusual renderings occur, as "for his cause" (= "because of"), 2Co 7:12; as = "affair," "thing," obsolete in the King James Version 1Ki 12:15; 2Ch 10:15, where the word occurs as a paraphrase of necibbah (= "turn of affairs"). In 1Sa 25:31 (King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American)) "causeless" (= without cause the American Standard Revised Version) occurs arbitrarily in adverb sense.

W. N. Stearns

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Origin, original, source, spring, mainspring, efficient cause. 2. Ground, reason, motive, consideration, account, inducement, incentive, incitement. 3. Purpose, object, aim, end, final cause. 4. Undertaking, enterprise, attempt. 5. (Law.) Suit, action, case, trial. II. v. a. 1. Produce, create, originate, bring into existence, bring into being. 2. Effect, produce, bring about, lead to, occasion, give rise to.

Moby Thesaurus

accomplish, achieve, act, action, activity, agency, agent, ambition, antecedent, aspiration, author, basis, be productive, bear, beget, belief, bind, breed, bring about, bring forth, bring into being, bring on, bring to effect, bring to fruition, bring to pass, call, call forth, call up, calling, campaign, case, cause in court, cause to, commitment, compel, conceive, concern, consideration, constrain, create, creator, crusade, determinant, do, draw on, drive, effect, effectuate, elicit, enforce, engender, engineer, establish, evoke, execute, faith, father, force, found, foundation, generate, generator, genesis, gestate, get up, give birth to, give occasion to, give origin to, give rise to, goad, goal, good reason, great cause, ground, grounds, guiding light, guiding star, hatch, have, ideal, impel, impulse, inaugurate, incentive, induce, inducement, industrialize, inspiration, inspire, institute, intention, interest, issue, judicial process, justification, lawsuit, lead to, legal action, legal case, legal proceedings, legal process, legal remedy, lifework, litigation, lodestar, mainspring, make, mass movement, mass-produce, material basis, matter, motivate, motive, movement, muster up, necessity, obligation, occasion, origin, originate, originator, overproduce, perform, precipitate, prime mover, principle, proceedings, produce, producer, promote, prompt, prosecution, provoke, realize, reason, reason for being, restrain, right, root, sake, score, secure, set afloat, set on foot, set up, sire, source, spring, substance, suit, suit at law, summon up, tie, ulterior motive, undertaking, use force upon, vocation, volume-produce, warrant, work, work up