causen.

Brit.

/kɔːz/, U.S. /kɔz/,

/kɑz/

Forms: Also Middle English–1500s cawse, Middle English–1600s Scottish causs, Middle English–1500s Scottish caus, Middle English Scottish caws, 1500s causse, 1500s–1600s caus.

Etymology: < French cause (= Provençal causa, Spanish causa, Italian causa), < Latin causa, caussa. The latter came down in living use as Italian cosa, Spanish cosa, Provençal cosa, Old Northern French cose, French chose matter, thing (a sense which causa has in the Salic Law, in Gregory of Tours, and the Capitularies). At a later period the medieval Latin causa, of philosophy and the law-courts, was taken into the living languages, in the form causa, cause; in French from the 13th cent.

I. General senses.

a. That which produces an effect; that which gives rise to any action, phenomenon, or condition. Cause and effect are correlative terms.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun]

causec1315

occasiona1387

mover?a1450

theme1594

inducement1605

quality1609

rise1641

eductor1794

make-way1894

c1315 Shoreham 117 Cause of alle thyse dignyte..Was Godes owene grace.

1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) ix. xxv. 362 The cause of nyghte is shadowe of the erthe that is bytwene vs and the sonne.

c1400 Test. Love (1560) ii. 285/2 Every cause of a cause is cause of thing caused.

c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xvii. 118 The philosophour sais that the cause of ane thing is of mair efficacite, nor is the thyng that procedis fra the cause.

1638 F. Rous Heavenly Acad. x. 167 To produce effects beyond the cause; which is indeed to make something out of nothing.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 139 Proteus onely knows The secret Cause, and Cure of all thy Woes.

1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 141. ⁋1 The greatest events may be often traced back to slender causes.

1827 R. Pollok Course of Time I. v. 201 These..were the occasion, not the cause of joy.

1879 J. N. Lockyer Elem. Lessons Astron. (new ed.) iii. 83 The Sun's heat and the Earth's rotation are, in the main, the causes of all atmospheric disturbances.

b. as philosophically defined.

ΚΠ

1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. ii. ix. 88 A cause. simply, or An Entire Cause, is the Aggregate of all the Accidents both of the Agents how many soever they be, and of the Patient, put together; which when they are all supposed to be present, it cannot be understood but that the Effect is produced at the same instant.

c1790 T. Reid Wks. I. 76/1 We have no ground to ascribe efficiency to natural causes, or even necessary connection with the effect. But we still call them causes, including nothing under the name but priority and constant conjunction.

c1790 T. Reid Wks. I. 77/1 In the strict philosophical sense, I take a cause to be that which has the relation to the effect which I have to my voluntary and deliberate actions.

1843 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic I. iii. v. §5. 411 We may define..the cause of a phenomenon, to be the antecedent or the concurrence of antecedents, upon which it is invariably and unconditionally consequent.

1870 W. S. Jevons Elem. Lessons Logic xxviii. 239 By the Cause of an event we mean the circumstances which must have preceded in order that the event should happen.

2. A person or other agent who brings about or occasions something, with or without intention. (Often in bad sense: one who occasions, or is to blame for mischief, misfortune, etc.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > agent or person who causes

causec1374

authora1382

workerc1384

causerc1386

begetterc1390

causac1420

workera1425

upraiserc1440

inspirerc1450

procurer1451

occasioner?c1452

procurator1486

purchaser1548

authorera1556

wielder1570

agent1571

effector1586

effecter1591

authoress1592

effectress1601

effectrix1611

performer1616

inducera1631

causeress1631

causatrix1649

father-in-law1650

pregnatress1651

matter1686

energizer1804

establisher1812

bringer1866

c1374 G. Chaucer Anelida & Arcite 257 Þaughe þat yee Þus Causelesse þe Cause be Of my dedely aduersitee.

1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Biv I am sayth he the veray cause of raysynge of the body. And I am also the veraye cause of lyfe vnto the soule.

?1529 R. Hyrde tr. J. L. Vives Instr. Christen Woman i. x. sig. L Howe moche mischiefe suche women be cause of.

1611 Bible (King James) 1 Chron. xxi. 3 Why will hee bee a cause of trespasse to Israel?

1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. ii. 18 The mind is the disposer and cause of all things.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 52 The Laws Impos'd by Nature, and by Nature's Cause .

1713 G. Berkeley Three Dialogues Hylas & Philonous ii. 80 God is the supreme and Universal Cause of all Things.

1832 Ld. Tennyson Dream Fair Women xxxii, in Poems (new ed.) 130 ‘My youth,’ she said, ‘was blasted with a curse: This woman was the cause.’

1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 5 Am I the cause, I the poor cause that men Reproach you?

a. A fact, condition of matters, or consideration, moving a person to action; ground of action; reason for action, motive.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [noun]

thingOE

cause?c1225

why1303

casec1325

chesounc1330

skillc1340

mannerc1390

reasona1398

springa1500

impulsion1605

vicissitude1605

whereforea1616

hoti1646

dioti1651

secret1738

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 237 Cause is hwi þu hit dudest. oðer hulpe oðer þer to. oðer hwer þurch hit bigon.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 42 Huanne þe seruises byeþ y-do uor onclenliche cause.

c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1714) 67 Movyd therto by non other Cause, save only drede of his Rebellion.

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection Pref. sig. Ai The cause why we name this treatise the pilgremage of perfeccion.

?1578 W. Patten Let. Entertainm. Killingwoorth 5 Az I haue good cauz too think.

1592 W. West Symbolæogr.: 1st Pt. i. §55 (1632) The consideration of instruments is the motiue cause, for which the Instruments are made.

1655 Comp. Clark 310 The said F.R. as well for the considerations aforesaid as also..for divers other good causes and considerations..doth for himself and his Heirs covenant.

1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. i. 23 To give just Cause of Suspicion.

1785 T. Reid Let. in Wks. I. 65/2 A reason..is often called a cause.

1876 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People (1882) iii. §4. 129 The causes which drew students and teachers within the walls of Oxford.

b. In a pregnant sense: Good, proper, or adequate ground of action; esp. in to have cause, have no cause, with cause, without cause; so to show cause, esp. in English Law, to argue against the confirmation of a ‘rule nisi’ or other provisionally granted order or judgement.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [noun] > reason or ground

achesounc1230

anchesouna1250

reasona1250

groundc1275

matter1340

purposec1350

cause1413

quarrel1476

actiona1500

subject1577

spring of action1583

qualitya1586

inducement1593

place1593

theme1594

instance1597

motive1605

impulsivea1628

justifiera1635

foundation1641

rise1641

plummet1679

mainspring1695

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] > argue against an order or judgement

show cause1520

1413 J. Lydgate Pilgr. of Sowle iii. vii They..kepen hit withouten ony cause.

c1440 York Myst. xvi. 49 For fadir, vnkyndnes ȝe kythe þem no cause.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ix. 25 Ik had gret caus him for to sla.

1520 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 26 To..shew a cause why he ought not to be..disfranchised.

1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Matrimonie f. xiii*^v If any man can shewe any iust cause why they maie not lawfully be ioyned together.

1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. i. xvii. §1 Modesty, that wee draw not God to yeeld cause of his doings.

1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. 9 To amend it where he saw cause.

1747 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1851) V. 88 The Government of Pennsylvania had not seen cause yet to contribute something towards it.

1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. 265 Upon good cause shewn to the court.

1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia I. ii. vi. 118 The Order got into its wider troubles..with Christian neighbours..who did not love it and for cause.

1867 Law Rep.: Queen's Bench 2 360 A rule was obtained..to enter the verdict for the plaintiff..Hayes, Serjt., and Beasley, shewed cause.

1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues II. 297 If a man has cause of offence against another.

1883 Law Rep.: Queen's Bench Div. 11 597 The plaintiff has been defamed, and has primâ facie a cause of action.

c. cause why n. ‘reason why’, reason. Sometimes used interrogatively, or conjunctively: Why, for the reason that, for this reason. Obsolete exc. dialect.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [phrase]

cause why1340

whya1616

1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 3526 God wate wele þe cause why.

c1386 G. Chaucer Squire's Tale 177 And cause why? for they kan nat the craft.

c1440 Gesta Romanorum (Harl.) viii. 21 He is gilty of my dethe, and I shalle telle you cause why.

c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 222 Cause whi God wole ȝeue his gracis rather in oon place..than in an other place, is this.

1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Matt. v. f. 42 There is no cause why to cut off these membres.

1583 A. Nowell et al. True Rep. Disput. E. Campion sig. C1^v You must..consider the cause: the cause why.

1856 C. Kingsley Let. in Life (1879) II. xiv. 21 Such a view..as tourist never saw, nor will see, 'case why, he can't find it. [Cf. cause conj.]

†4.

a. The object of action; purpose, end. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object

willeOE

errand?c1225

purposec1300

endc1305

emprisec1330

intentc1340

use1340

conclusionc1374

studya1382

pointc1385

causec1386

gamea1393

term?c1400

businessc1405

finec1405

intentionc1410

object?a1425

obtent?a1475

drift1526

intend1526

respect1528

flight1530

finality?1541

stop1551

scope1559

butt?1571

bent1579

aiming point1587

pursuitc1592

aim1595

devotion1597

meaning1605

maina1610

attempt1610

design1615

purport1616

terminusa1617

intendment1635

pretence1649

ettle1790

big (also great) idea1846

objective1878

objective1882

the name of the game1910

the object of the exercise1958

thrust1968

c1386 G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale 386 This Markys hath hire spoused with a ryng Broght for the same cause.

c1530 A. Barclay Egloges ii. sig. Lij Than all be folys..Which with glad myndes vse courtyng for suche cause.

1595 W. Hunnis Life & Death Joseph 59 in Recreat. (new ed.) For to sojourne in the land, is cause we come to thee.

b. final cause: a term introduced into philosophical language by the schoolmen as a transl. of Aristotle's fourth cause, τὸ οὗ ἕνεκα or τέλος, the end or purpose for which a thing is done, viewed as the cause of the act; esp. applied in Natural Theology to the design, purpose, or end of the arrangements of the universe.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > types of cause

efficient cause1393

conjunct causec1400

final causec1400

meritorious cause1526

matter1570

deficient cause1581

effectrix1583

formal cause1586

material cause1586

final cause1587

conservant cause1588

efficient1593

effective1610

defective cause1624

proximate cause1641

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > scholasticism > [noun] > causes

material cause1393

final cause1587

vera causa1831

teleocracy1882

whyness1896

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > ancient Greek philosophy > post-Socratic philosophy > [noun] > Aristotelianism > elements of

material cause1393

matterc1395

matter subjecta1398

predicamenta1425

quality?1537

first substance1551

predicable1551

property1551

proprium1551

transcendent1581

final cause1587

category1588

habit1588

ante-predicament?1596

postpredicament1599

entelechy1603

transumption1628

secondary1656

objective cause1668

transcendental1668

general substance1697

third man1801

thought-form1834

posterioristic universal1902

ousia1917

1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. x. 170 Let us consequently see the final cause: that is to wit, how and to what ende he guydeth it.

c1660 R. Boyle Disquis. Final Causes §1 Those that would exclude final causes from the consideration of the naturalist..either that, with Epicurus, they think..it is improper and vain to seek for final causes in the effects of chance: or..with Descartes, that..it is rash for men to think, that they know, or can investigate, what ends [God] proposed to Himself in His actings about His creatures.

1691 J. Ray Wisdom of God 27 The continuation of these two motions of the Earth..upon Axes not parallel is resolvable into nothing but a Final and Mental Cause, or the τὸ Βέλτιστον, because it was best it should be so.

1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey I. 24 The efficient as well as the final causes of travelling.

1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. viii. 541 Descartes..was, of course, led to abandon the study of final causes.

1881 B. Sanderson in Nature No. 619. 439 The final cause of an animal..is muscular action, because it is by means of its muscles that it maintains its external relations.

5. In the preceding senses, with various defining attributes.The four causes of Aristotle were the efficient cause, the force, instrument, or agency by which a thing is produced; the formal cause (see quot. 1678); the material cause, the elements or matter from which it is produced; the final cause, the purpose or end for which it is produced (see 4b). The First Cause, the original cause or Creator of the Universe; secondary causes, those derived from a primary or first cause. occasional causes in Cartesian philosophy: see occasional adj. and n., occasionalism n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > types of cause

efficient cause1393

conjunct causec1400

final causec1400

meritorious cause1526

matter1570

deficient cause1581

effectrix1583

formal cause1586

material cause1586

final cause1587

conservant cause1588

efficient1593

effective1610

defective cause1624

proximate cause1641

the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > primary or first cause

First Cause1393

primum mobile1548

movera1550

impulsive causea1575

primus motor1579

beginning1587

first mobile1645

causa causans1659

first mover1711

prime mover1795

leader1805

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > scholasticism > [noun] > causes

material cause1393

final cause1587

vera causa1831

teleocracy1882

whyness1896

the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > ancient Greek philosophy > post-Socratic philosophy > [noun] > Aristotelianism > elements of

material cause1393

matterc1395

matter subjecta1398

predicamenta1425

quality?1537

first substance1551

predicable1551

property1551

proprium1551

transcendent1581

final cause1587

category1588

habit1588

ante-predicament?1596

postpredicament1599

entelechy1603

transumption1628

secondary1656

objective cause1668

transcendental1668

general substance1697

third man1801

thought-form1834

posterioristic universal1902

ousia1917

1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 87 He clepeth god the firste cause.

1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) iii. xvii. 61 The cause efficient of the syghte is the vertue of the soule that hyghte animalis.

1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) 1 The fyrste is what, the secunde is why, In wych two wurdys,..The foure causys comprehended be.

1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. I. 718 The Philosophers propound fouer causes of euery thing, The efficient, the materiall, the formall, and the finall cause.

1646 H. Lawrence Of Communion & Warre with Angels 31 His [God's] essence (which is the efficient, finall, and exemplary cause of all things).

1656 Manasseh ben Israel Vindiciæ Judæorum iii. 22 The Knowledge of the one first cause.

1678 T. Hobbes Decameron Physiologicum ii. 15 Another they call the Formal Cause, or simply the form or essence of the thing caused; as when they say, Four equal Angles and four equal Sides are the Cause of a Square Figure.

1726 J. Ayliffe Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani 147 There are seven Causes consider'd in Judgment, viz. the Material, Efficient, and Formal Cause; and likewise a Natural, Substantial, and Accidental Cause; and lastly a Final Cause.

1733 A. Pope Ess. Man iii. 1 The Universal Cause Acts to one End, but acts by various Laws.

1743 A. Pope Dunciad (rev. ed.) iv. 644 Philosophy, that lean'd on Heav'n before, Shrinks to her second cause, and is no more.

1845 Corrie Theol. in Encycl. Metrop. 858/1 The main object of Theology is to ascertain the attributes and perfections of this First Great Cause.

1858 H. L. Mansel Bampton Lect. (ed. 4) ii. 30 By the First Cause is meant that which produces all things, and is itself produced of none.

1862 H. Spencer First Princ. i. ii. §12. 37 We are not only obliged to suppose some cause, but also a first cause.

6. From the general senses arise various phrases:

†a. by the cause that: for the reason that; with the purpose that, to the end that, in order that; by the cause of: by reason of, on account of. Obsolete. Hence bi-cause, because adv., conj., and n.See also cause conj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [phrase] > because

by reason (that)a1393

by the cause thatc1405

by occasion thatc1425

in respect of1528

inasmuch1732

the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [phrase] > because of

in virtue ofa1250

by (also for) reason ofa1350

by the virtue ofa1375

by the cause ofc1405

by occasion ofc1425

for cause ofc1425

by way of1447

for suit of1451

in respect of1528

in consideration of1540

in regard of1600

in intuition to1626

by or in vigour of1636

along1680

in view of1710

c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1630 By the cause þ^t they sholde ryse Erly..Vn to hir reste wente they at nyght.

a1450 Knt. de la Tour 2 Thei had in hem no shame nor drede by the cause thei were so used.

c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1714) 138 Which by the Cause therof lyvyn in the gretter penurye.

†b. for cause that: for the reason that (= because adv. 1, because conj. 1). for cause of: by reason of, on account of (= because adv. 2a); for the sake of (= because adv. 2b). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [phrase] > because of

in virtue ofa1250

by (also for) reason ofa1350

by the virtue ofa1375

by the cause ofc1405

by occasion ofc1425

for cause ofc1425

by way of1447

for suit of1451

in respect of1528

in consideration of1540

in regard of1600

in intuition to1626

by or in vigour of1636

along1680

in view of1710

the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [phrase] > because of > for the sake of

for cause ofc1425

for (the) respect of1489

for the regard of1576

c1425 Wyntoun Cron. vii. vii. 205 For caws þat he past til Twlows.

1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 89 Callid god of bataill, for cause of many batailles that he had.

1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxii. 214 And al he did for cause of spences and for to gadre tresour.

1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 334 For caus that tha no wald Resist the wrang.

1578 in J. G. Dalyell Scotish Poems 16th Cent. (1801) II. 154 For cause his faith was constantly In Christes blude.

†c. for my (his, etc.) cause: on my (his, etc.) account, for my (his, etc.) sake. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [adverb] > because of or by reason of > for my or his sake

for my (his, etc.) causea1500

a1500 (?c1450) Merlin i. 15 Ye shull neuer be Iuged to deth for my cause.

a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 3396 I wald not..for my causs, that such o knycht suld dee.

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 170 I haue described and set him out in this manner..which I did for vse and customs cause.

1611 Bible (King James) 2 Cor. vii. 12 I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong.

II. In legal, and related senses.In the Digest, ‘causa’ sometimes means ‘the facts of the case.’

a. Law. The matter about which a person goes to law; the case of one party in a suit. Hence to plead a cause. (Cf. 1883 at sense 3b.)

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)]

mootOE

to plead a cause1297

plead1429

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > one's case

cause1297

skilla1300

intentc1575

case1592

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 9362 Þe riȝte of is cause.

c1300 Beket 1043 To bringe this cause of holi churche tofore the Pope.

c1400 Mandeville's Trav. xvi. 172 Bothe partyes writen here Causes in 2 Billes.

1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) ii. iii. 38 Pletynge of a cause for his clyent.

1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique 6 The judges before whom..the determinacion of his cause resteth.

1611 Bible (King James) Exod. xxii. 9 The cause of both parties shall come before the Iudges.

1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World II. 135 He that has most opinions is most likely to carry his cause.

1801 M. Edgeworth Prussian Vase in Moral Tales III. 28 Would to Heaven, my son could have..such a trial! And..that I might plead his cause!

b. figurative.

ΚΠ

1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xxvi. 545 Ye can speke shrewdly wythoute a cause lawfull.

1568 Bible (Bishops') Psalms xxxv. 1 Pleade thou my cause O Lord.

1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. 6 This seemeth to argue a bad cause.

a. Law. A subject of litigation; a matter before a court for decision; an action, process, suit; = case n.¹ 7a.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > a case before court

causec1330

casec1390

court casea1631

law-case1710

c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 128 In alle manere cause he sought þe right in skille.

1399 W. Langland Richard Redeles iii. 318 To ben of conceill for causis that in the court hangit.

c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 701 To corte..Þer alle oure causez schal be tryed.

1495 Act 11 Hen. VII c. 24 §1 In any accion or cause personell.

?1530 J. Rastell Pastyme of People sig. Biv^v He was in all cawsis so indyfferent.

1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea 5 This caus could not by any pretens bee brought into judgment.

1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 201. ⁋11 He was summoned as an evidence in a cause of great importance.

1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 302 The governing power, which, in the midst of a cause, or on the prospect of it, may wholly change the rule of decision.

1879 W. B. Carpenter Princ. Mental Physiol. (ed. 5) ii. x. 436 Further proceedings having been taken in a cause which he had heard some years previously.

b. Hence (Scottish) day or hour of cause: i.e. of trial; also figurative and transferred.

ΚΠ

1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian xii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 302 Whispering to Plumdamas that he would meet him at MacCroskie's..in the hour of cause.

1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel III. xii. 336 I will be with you in the hour of cause.

c. figurative. Matter in dispute, an affair to be decided.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > controversy, dispute, argument > [noun] > matter of controversy

causea1500

wrangle1579

vexed question1614

vexata quaestioa1634

controversial1653

battlefield1820

a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 1496 Ther god hyme-self hath ton the causs on hond.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. i. 289 What counsaile giue you in this weightie cause ?

1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 283 Ready to decide the cause by Battel.

†9.

a. Contextually, and in translating Latin causa or Greek αἰτία, it sometimes has or approaches the sense ‘charge, accusation, blame’. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > testing > accusation, charge > [noun] > instance of

sakec1175

challengec1315

quarrela1325

accusationa1382

cause1382

blamec1384

pointa1387

accusementa1393

chesouna1400

objectionc1410

accuse?a1439

thing1548

facing-carda1624

intentation1623

indictment1871

1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Acts xxv. 27 For to sende a boundun man, and not to signifie the cause of him.

c1460 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Laud) l. 16681 The cawse of his deth they wroght abovyn his hed.

a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. cxxvi^v Many..whiche laye there [sc. in the prisons] for great causes & Crymes.

a1557 J. Cheke tr. Gospel St. Matthew (1843) xxiii. 37 Þei set his caus in writing over his hed.

1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 107 I pardon that mans life, what was thy cause, adultery?

†b. to be in cause: to be to blame. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > be the reason for [verb (intransitive)]

to be in causec1400

c1400 Rom. Rose 4525 Who was in cause..But hir silfe?

c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 25 Prelats mai sore drede, þat her vniust & iuilwilly cursing be in cause whi þe puple drediþ not cursing.

1630 R. Norton tr. W. Camden Hist. Princesse Elizabeth i. 51 Shee her selfe is in cause that I cannot satisfie her.

†10.

a. gen. A matter of concern, an affair, business; the case as it concerns any one (cf. case n.¹ 2). Obsolete (exc. dialect)

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > affair, business, concern > [noun]

thingeOE

charec897

cause1393

gleea1400

affaira1425

articlea1425

conversement1455

concernment1495

subject?1541

gear1545

concerning1604

concern1659

interest1674

lookout1795

show1797

pidgin1807

put-in1853

chip1896

thang1932

1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 85 Wisdom is..Above all other thing to knowe In loves cause and elles where.

14.. Tundale's Vis. 100 His frendys by sybbe Herd of that cause that hym bytydde.

1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 33 Committe all thy causes to god.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) iii. 302 His caus ȝeid fra ill to wer.

1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. I3^v The cause craues hast.

1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. ii. 15 Pericles.., could easily reduce the exercise of his mind from secret obstrusive things to publick popular causes.

1880 M. A. Courtney Gloss. Words W. Cornwall in Gloss. Cornwall (E.D.S.) Cause, case. ‘If that's the cause I must work later.’

b. Phrases. if cause were, in cause. Obsolete exc. dialect. (Cf. case n.¹ 6, Phrases 6a, in case conj. and adv.)

ΚΠ

c1400 Rom. Rose 5295 He..shulde it fulfille..Except oonly in cause twoo.

1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng x. f. 10^v In that cause the lorde of the honer or manere, may take a distresse for his rentes, homages [etc.].

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Chron. (1812) I. 314 We are bounde to ayde him, in cause that he requyre..vs so to do.

1634 Malory's Most Anc. Hist. Prince Arthur ii. lxiv. 402 If cause were that they had to do with Sir Launcelot.

1696 E. Stillingfleet 12 Serm. i. 7 I may say..as our Saviour doth in another cause.

c. seal of cause n. charter of incorporation.

ΚΠ

1806 R. Forsyth Beauties Scotl. III. 260 The incorporation of Fleshers [of Glasgow] obtained their charter or seal of cause in 1580.

11.

a. That side of a question or controversy which is espoused, advocated, and upheld by a person or party; a movement which calls forth the efforts of its supporters. (Spec. applied in Commonwealth times to the Puritan ‘cause’.)

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social relations > party or faction > [noun] > side or cause

halfa885

side?a1300

quarrel1340

partya1375

parta1382

cause1588

quality1598

1588 ‘M. Marprelate’ Oh read ouer D. Iohn Bridges: Epist. 39 Terming the cause by the name of Anabaptisterie.

1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. iii. 129 It was the..publicke act of the cause.

a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. iv. 12 Such temperate order in so fierce a cause .

1660 Bibliotheca Fanatica in Harl. Misc. (1746) VIII. 71/1 A pious Brother, and a real Assertor of the good old Cause.

1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. ii. 125 Zeal..made the Church, and State, and Laws, Submit t' old Iron and the Cause.

1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy Ded. sig. A2 Their Hopes or Fears for the Common Cause rose or fell with Your Lordship's Interest and Authority.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xiii. iii. 23 I shall ever esteem it the Cause of my Sex to rescue any Woman, [etc.] .

1792 E. Burke Corr. (1844) III. 472 No cause in the world can..be more clear in my eyes..than that of the Poles.

1827 H. Hallam Constit. Hist. Eng. II. x. 132 The good old cause, as the commonwealth's men affected to style the interests of their little faction.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Two Voices in Poems (new ed.) II. 126 In some good cause,..To perish.

1884 W. E. Gladstone in Standard 29 Feb. 2/7 We should be traitors to the cause we profess to have taken in hand.

b. Hence to make common cause (with): to join in behalf of a common object.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social relations > association for a common purpose > associate for common purpose [verb (intransitive)]

jousta1325

ally?a1400

joinc1400

associe1441

confederc1460

to stick together1525

band1530

to join forces1560

colleaguec1565

alliance1569

to enter league1578

unite1579

interleague1590

confederate1591

to join hands1598

combine1608

injointa1616

combinda1626

bandy1633

comply1646

federate1648

leaguea1649

associate1653

coalesce1657

to understand each other1663

sociate1688

to row in the same (also in one) boat1787

rendezvous1817

to make common cause (with)1845

to sing the same song1846

cahoot1857

to gang up1910

jungle1922

1845 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 I. iv. 209 Before they made common cause with either French or English.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 101 The two parties..united their strength in a common cause.

1863 M. Howitt tr. F. Bremer Greece & Greeks II. xiv. 114 Epirus will make common cause with Thessaly.

c. Hence applied colloquially in some religious bodies, to their ‘cause’ as embodied in a particular local organization, enterprise, mission, or church.

ΚΠ

1889 N.E.D. at Cause Mod. Several new causes have been started in the county during the year. The Baptists have a flourishing cause in the village.

†12. Disease, sickness. Obsolete. [A sense, simply transferred from late Latin, as to the origin of which see the Latin dictionaries. In English often vaguely associated with other senses, and used accordingly.]

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > [noun]

unhealc700

untrumnessc897

adleeOE

sicknessc967

cothec1000

unhealthc1000

woe?a1200

ail?c1225

lying?c1225

maladyc1275

unsoundc1275

feebless1297

languora1375

languishc1384

disease1393

aegritudea1400

lamea1400

maleasea1400

soughta1400

wilc1400

malefaction?a1425

firmityc1426

unwholesomenessc1449

ill1450

languenta1500

distemperancea1535

the valley of the shadow of death1535

affect?1537

affection?1541

distemperature1541

inability1547

sickliness1565

languishment1576

cause1578

unhealthfulness1589

crazedness1593

languorment1593

evilness1599

strickenness1599

craziness1602

distemper1604

unsoundness1605

invaletude1623

unhealthiness1634

achaque1647

unwellness1653

disailment1657

insalubrity1668

faintiness1683

queerness1687

invalidity1690

illness1692

ill health1698

ailment1708

illing1719

invalescence1724

peakingness1727

sickishness1727

valetudinariness1742

ailingness1776

brash1786

invalidism1794

poorliness1814

diseasement1826

invalidship1830

valetudinarianism1839

ailing1862

invalidhood1863

megrims1870

pourriture1890

immersement1903

bug1918

condition1920

1490 Arte & Crafte to knowe well to Dye (Caxton) 2 What some euer mater or cause be layd to him.. he oughte to suffre and receyue it pacyently.

1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure xviii. xvii I your cause can nothing remedy.]

1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iii. xxvi. 353 Hellebor may not be ministred except in desperate causes.

1585 H. Llwyd tr. Pope John XXI Treasury of Health (new ed.) sig. F iij In a hote cause, lettis made in a playster is much worth.

a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) ii. i. 110 Toucht With that malignant cause .

a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iii. i. 234 Leaue vs to cure this Cause .

Compounds

C1. General attributive.

cause-monger n.

ΚΠ

1837 Edinb. Rev. 64 491 These cause-mongers go also to the storehouse of their fancy.

cause-renderer n.

ΚΠ

a1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. ii. viii, in Wks. (1640) III For, a cause-renderer, hath sometime the force of a severing one.

cause-seeking adj.

ΚΠ

1877 J. Tyndall in Daily News 2 Oct. 2/4 He has been described by the German Lichtenberg as ‘das rastlose Ursachenthier’—the restless cause-seeking animal.

causewise adv.

ΚΠ

1869 Act 32 & 33 Victoria c. 91 Sched. i. 1./2 Accounts of various suitors kept cause~wise.

C2.

cause-book n. a book in which legal causes are entered.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > a case before court > book of legal cases

casebook1675

cause-book1885

1885 Law Times Rep. 52 574/2 The cause was re-entered in the cause-book.

cause-list n. a list of causes to be tried.

cause petition n. (see quot.)

ΚΠ

1840 Penny Cycl. XVIII. 33/1 A petition is an application in writing, addressed to the lord chancellor, the master of the rolls, or to the Equity side of the Court of Exchequer, in which the petitioner states certain facts as the ground on which he prays for the order and direction of the court... A cause petition is a petition in a matter of which the court has already possession by virtue of there being a suit concerning the matter of the petition; and the petitioner is generally either a party to such suit, or he derives a title to some interest in the subject matter of the suit from a party to it. When there is no suit existing about the matter of the petition, it is called an ex parte petition.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online December 2019).

单词	cause
释义	causen. Brit. /kɔːz/, U.S. /kɔz/, /kɑz/ Forms: Also Middle English–1500s cawse, Middle English–1600s Scottish causs, Middle English–1500s Scottish caus, Middle English Scottish caws, 1500s causse, 1500s–1600s caus. Etymology: < French cause (= Provençal causa, Spanish causa, Italian causa), < Latin causa, caussa. The latter came down in living use as Italian cosa, Spanish cosa, Provençal cosa, Old Northern French cose, French chose matter, thing (a sense which causa has in the Salic Law, in Gregory of Tours, and the Capitularies). At a later period the medieval Latin causa, of philosophy and the law-courts, was taken into the living languages, in the form causa, cause; in French from the 13th cent. I. General senses. 1. a. That which produces an effect; that which gives rise to any action, phenomenon, or condition. Cause and effect are correlative terms. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] causec1315 occasiona1387 mover?a1450 theme1594 inducement1605 quality1609 rise1641 eductor1794 make-way1894 c1315 Shoreham 117 Cause of alle thyse dignyte..Was Godes owene grace. 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) ix. xxv. 362 The cause of nyghte is shadowe of the erthe that is bytwene vs and the sonne. c1400 Test. Love (1560) ii. 285/2 Every cause of a cause is cause of thing caused. c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xvii. 118 The philosophour sais that the cause of ane thing is of mair efficacite, nor is the thyng that procedis fra the cause. 1638 F. Rous Heavenly Acad. x. 167 To produce effects beyond the cause; which is indeed to make something out of nothing. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 139 Proteus onely knows The secret Cause, and Cure of all thy Woes. View more context for this quotation 1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 141. ⁋1 The greatest events may be often traced back to slender causes. 1827 R. Pollok Course of Time I. v. 201 These..were the occasion, not the cause of joy. 1879 J. N. Lockyer Elem. Lessons Astron. (new ed.) iii. 83 The Sun's heat and the Earth's rotation are, in the main, the causes of all atmospheric disturbances. b. as philosophically defined. ΚΠ 1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. ii. ix. 88 A cause. simply, or An Entire Cause, is the Aggregate of all the Accidents both of the Agents how many soever they be, and of the Patient, put together; which when they are all supposed to be present, it cannot be understood but that the Effect is produced at the same instant. c1790 T. Reid Wks. I. 76/1 We have no ground to ascribe efficiency to natural causes, or even necessary connection with the effect. But we still call them causes, including nothing under the name but priority and constant conjunction. c1790 T. Reid Wks. I. 77/1 In the strict philosophical sense, I take a cause to be that which has the relation to the effect which I have to my voluntary and deliberate actions. 1843 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic I. iii. v. §5. 411 We may define..the cause of a phenomenon, to be the antecedent or the concurrence of antecedents, upon which it is invariably and unconditionally consequent. 1870 W. S. Jevons Elem. Lessons Logic xxviii. 239 By the Cause of an event we mean the circumstances which must have preceded in order that the event should happen. 2. A person or other agent who brings about or occasions something, with or without intention. (Often in bad sense: one who occasions, or is to blame for mischief, misfortune, etc.) ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > agent or person who causes causec1374 authora1382 workerc1384 causerc1386 begetterc1390 causac1420 workera1425 upraiserc1440 inspirerc1450 procurer1451 occasioner?c1452 procurator1486 purchaser1548 authorera1556 wielder1570 agent1571 effector1586 effecter1591 authoress1592 effectress1601 effectrix1611 performer1616 inducera1631 causeress1631 causatrix1649 father-in-law1650 pregnatress1651 matter1686 energizer1804 establisher1812 bringer1866 c1374 G. Chaucer Anelida & Arcite 257 Þaughe þat yee Þus Causelesse þe Cause be Of my dedely aduersitee. 1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Biv I am sayth he the veray cause of raysynge of the body. And I am also the veraye cause of lyfe vnto the soule. ?1529 R. Hyrde tr. J. L. Vives Instr. Christen Woman i. x. sig. L Howe moche mischiefe suche women be cause of. 1611 Bible (King James) 1 Chron. xxi. 3 Why will hee bee a cause of trespasse to Israel? View more context for this quotation 1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. ii. 18 The mind is the disposer and cause of all things. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 52 The Laws Impos'd by Nature, and by Nature's Cause . View more context for this quotation 1713 G. Berkeley Three Dialogues Hylas & Philonous ii. 80 God is the supreme and Universal Cause of all Things. 1832 Ld. Tennyson Dream Fair Women xxxii, in Poems (new ed.) 130 ‘My youth,’ she said, ‘was blasted with a curse: This woman was the cause.’ 1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 5 Am I the cause, I the poor cause that men Reproach you? 3. a. A fact, condition of matters, or consideration, moving a person to action; ground of action; reason for action, motive. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [noun] thingOE cause?c1225 why1303 casec1325 chesounc1330 skillc1340 mannerc1390 reasona1398 springa1500 impulsion1605 vicissitude1605 whereforea1616 hoti1646 dioti1651 secret1738 ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 237 Cause is hwi þu hit dudest. oðer hulpe oðer þer to. oðer hwer þurch hit bigon. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 42 Huanne þe seruises byeþ y-do uor onclenliche cause. c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1714) 67 Movyd therto by non other Cause, save only drede of his Rebellion. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection Pref. sig. Ai The cause why we name this treatise the pilgremage of perfeccion. ?1578 W. Patten Let. Entertainm. Killingwoorth 5 Az I haue good cauz too think. 1592 W. West Symbolæogr.: 1st Pt. i. §55 (1632) The consideration of instruments is the motiue cause, for which the Instruments are made. 1655 Comp. Clark 310 The said F.R. as well for the considerations aforesaid as also..for divers other good causes and considerations..doth for himself and his Heirs covenant. 1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. i. 23 To give just Cause of Suspicion. 1785 T. Reid Let. in Wks. I. 65/2 A reason..is often called a cause. 1876 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People (1882) iii. §4. 129 The causes which drew students and teachers within the walls of Oxford. b. In a pregnant sense: Good, proper, or adequate ground of action; esp. in to have cause, have no cause, with cause, without cause; so to show cause, esp. in English Law, to argue against the confirmation of a ‘rule nisi’ or other provisionally granted order or judgement. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [noun] > reason or ground achesounc1230 anchesouna1250 reasona1250 groundc1275 matter1340 purposec1350 cause1413 quarrel1476 actiona1500 subject1577 spring of action1583 qualitya1586 inducement1593 place1593 theme1594 instance1597 motive1605 impulsivea1628 justifiera1635 foundation1641 rise1641 plummet1679 mainspring1695 society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] > argue against an order or judgement show cause1520 1413 J. Lydgate Pilgr. of Sowle iii. vii They..kepen hit withouten ony cause. c1440 York Myst. xvi. 49 For fadir, vnkyndnes ȝe kythe þem no cause. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ix. 25 Ik had gret caus him for to sla. 1520 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 26 To..shew a cause why he ought not to be..disfranchised. 1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Matrimonie f. xiii^v If any man can shewe any iust cause why they maie not lawfully be ioyned together. 1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig.* i. xvii. §1 Modesty, that wee draw not God to yeeld cause of his doings. 1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. 9 To amend it where he saw cause. 1747 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1851) V. 88 The Government of Pennsylvania had not seen cause yet to contribute something towards it. 1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. III. 265 Upon good cause shewn to the court. 1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia I. ii. vi. 118 The Order got into its wider troubles..with Christian neighbours..who did not love it and for cause. 1867 Law Rep.: Queen's Bench 2 360 A rule was obtained..to enter the verdict for the plaintiff..Hayes, Serjt., and Beasley, shewed cause. 1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues II. 297 If a man has cause of offence against another. 1883 Law Rep.: Queen's Bench Div. 11 597 The plaintiff has been defamed, and has primâ facie a cause of action. c. cause why n. ‘reason why’, reason. Sometimes used interrogatively, or conjunctively: Why, for the reason that, for this reason. Obsolete exc. dialect. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [phrase] cause why1340 whya1616 1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 3526 God wate wele þe cause why. c1386 G. Chaucer Squire's Tale 177 And cause why? for they kan nat the craft. c1440 Gesta Romanorum (Harl.) viii. 21 He is gilty of my dethe, and I shalle telle you cause why. c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 222 Cause whi God wole ȝeue his gracis rather in oon place..than in an other place, is this. 1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Matt. v. f. 42 There is no cause why to cut off these membres. 1583 A. Nowell et al. True Rep. Disput. E. Campion sig. C1^v You must..consider the cause: the cause why. 1856 C. Kingsley Let. in Life (1879) II. xiv. 21 Such a view..as tourist never saw, nor will see, 'case why, he can't find it. [Cf. cause conj.] †4. a. The object of action; purpose, end. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object willeOE errand?c1225 purposec1300 endc1305 emprisec1330 intentc1340 use1340 conclusionc1374 studya1382 pointc1385 causec1386 gamea1393 term?c1400 businessc1405 finec1405 intentionc1410 object?a1425 obtent?a1475 drift1526 intend1526 respect1528 flight1530 finality?1541 stop1551 scope1559 butt?1571 bent1579 aiming point1587 pursuitc1592 aim1595 devotion1597 meaning1605 maina1610 attempt1610 design1615 purport1616 terminusa1617 intendment1635 pretence1649 ettle1790 big (also great) idea1846 objective1878 objective1882 the name of the game1910 the object of the exercise1958 thrust1968 c1386 G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale 386 This Markys hath hire spoused with a ryng Broght for the same cause. c1530 A. Barclay Egloges ii. sig. Lij Than all be folys..Which with glad myndes vse courtyng for suche cause. 1595 W. Hunnis Life & Death Joseph 59 in Recreat. (new ed.) For to sojourne in the land, is cause we come to thee. b. final cause: a term introduced into philosophical language by the schoolmen as a transl. of Aristotle's fourth cause, τὸ οὗ ἕνεκα or τέλος, the end or purpose for which a thing is done, viewed as the cause of the act; esp. applied in Natural Theology to the design, purpose, or end of the arrangements of the universe. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > types of cause efficient cause1393 conjunct causec1400 final causec1400 meritorious cause1526 matter1570 deficient cause1581 effectrix1583 formal cause1586 material cause1586 final cause1587 conservant cause1588 efficient1593 effective1610 defective cause1624 proximate cause1641 the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > scholasticism > [noun] > causes material cause1393 final cause1587 vera causa1831 teleocracy1882 whyness1896 the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > ancient Greek philosophy > post-Socratic philosophy > [noun] > Aristotelianism > elements of material cause1393 matterc1395 matter subjecta1398 predicamenta1425 quality?1537 first substance1551 predicable1551 property1551 proprium1551 transcendent1581 final cause1587 category1588 habit1588 ante-predicament?1596 postpredicament1599 entelechy1603 transumption1628 secondary1656 objective cause1668 transcendental1668 general substance1697 third man1801 thought-form1834 posterioristic universal1902 ousia1917 1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. x. 170 Let us consequently see the final cause: that is to wit, how and to what ende he guydeth it. c1660 R. Boyle Disquis. Final Causes §1 Those that would exclude final causes from the consideration of the naturalist..either that, with Epicurus, they think..it is improper and vain to seek for final causes in the effects of chance: or..with Descartes, that..it is rash for men to think, that they know, or can investigate, what ends [God] proposed to Himself in His actings about His creatures. 1691 J. Ray Wisdom of God 27 The continuation of these two motions of the Earth..upon Axes not parallel is resolvable into nothing but a Final and Mental Cause, or the τὸ Βέλτιστον, because it was best it should be so. 1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey I. 24 The efficient as well as the final causes of travelling. 1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. viii. 541 Descartes..was, of course, led to abandon the study of final causes. 1881 B. Sanderson in Nature No. 619. 439 The final cause of an animal..is muscular action, because it is by means of its muscles that it maintains its external relations. 5. In the preceding senses, with various defining attributes.The four causes of Aristotle were the efficient cause, the force, instrument, or agency by which a thing is produced; the formal cause (see quot. 1678); the material cause, the elements or matter from which it is produced; the final cause, the purpose or end for which it is produced (see 4b). The First Cause, the original cause or Creator of the Universe; secondary causes, those derived from a primary or first cause. occasional causes in Cartesian philosophy: see occasional adj. and n., occasionalism n. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > types of cause efficient cause1393 conjunct causec1400 final causec1400 meritorious cause1526 matter1570 deficient cause1581 effectrix1583 formal cause1586 material cause1586 final cause1587 conservant cause1588 efficient1593 effective1610 defective cause1624 proximate cause1641 the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > primary or first cause First Cause1393 primum mobile1548 movera1550 impulsive causea1575 primus motor1579 beginning1587 first mobile1645 causa causans1659 first mover1711 prime mover1795 leader1805 the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > scholasticism > [noun] > causes material cause1393 final cause1587 vera causa1831 teleocracy1882 whyness1896 the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > ancient Greek philosophy > post-Socratic philosophy > [noun] > Aristotelianism > elements of material cause1393 matterc1395 matter subjecta1398 predicamenta1425 quality?1537 first substance1551 predicable1551 property1551 proprium1551 transcendent1581 final cause1587 category1588 habit1588 ante-predicament?1596 postpredicament1599 entelechy1603 transumption1628 secondary1656 objective cause1668 transcendental1668 general substance1697 third man1801 thought-form1834 posterioristic universal1902 ousia1917 1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 87 He clepeth god the firste cause. 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) iii. xvii. 61 The cause efficient of the syghte is the vertue of the soule that hyghte animalis. 1447 O. Bokenham Lyvys Seyntys (1835) 1 The fyrste is what, the secunde is why, In wych two wurdys,..The foure causys comprehended be. 1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. I. 718 The Philosophers propound fouer causes of euery thing, The efficient, the materiall, the formall, and the finall cause. 1646 H. Lawrence Of Communion & Warre with Angels 31 His [God's] essence (which is the efficient, finall, and exemplary cause of all things). 1656 Manasseh ben Israel Vindiciæ Judæorum iii. 22 The Knowledge of the one first cause. 1678 T. Hobbes Decameron Physiologicum ii. 15 Another they call the Formal Cause, or simply the form or essence of the thing caused; as when they say, Four equal Angles and four equal Sides are the Cause of a Square Figure. 1726 J. Ayliffe Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani 147 There are seven Causes consider'd in Judgment, viz. the Material, Efficient, and Formal Cause; and likewise a Natural, Substantial, and Accidental Cause; and lastly a Final Cause. 1733 A. Pope Ess. Man iii. 1 The Universal Cause Acts to one End, but acts by various Laws. 1743 A. Pope Dunciad (rev. ed.) iv. 644 Philosophy, that lean'd on Heav'n before, Shrinks to her second cause, and is no more. 1845 Corrie Theol. in Encycl. Metrop. 858/1 The main object of Theology is to ascertain the attributes and perfections of this First Great Cause. 1858 H. L. Mansel Bampton Lect. (ed. 4) ii. 30 By the First Cause is meant that which produces all things, and is itself produced of none. 1862 H. Spencer First Princ. i. ii. §12. 37 We are not only obliged to suppose some cause, but also a first cause. 6. From the general senses arise various phrases: †a. by the cause that: for the reason that; with the purpose that, to the end that, in order that; by the cause of: by reason of, on account of. Obsolete. Hence bi-cause, because adv., conj., and n.See also cause conj. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [phrase] > because by reason (that)a1393 by the cause thatc1405 by occasion thatc1425 in respect of1528 inasmuch1732 the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [phrase] > because of in virtue ofa1250 by (also for) reason ofa1350 by the virtue ofa1375 by the cause ofc1405 by occasion ofc1425 for cause ofc1425 by way of1447 for suit of1451 in respect of1528 in consideration of1540 in regard of1600 in intuition to1626 by or in vigour of1636 along1680 in view of1710 c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 1630 By the cause þ^t they sholde ryse Erly..Vn to hir reste wente they at nyght. a1450 Knt. de la Tour 2 Thei had in hem no shame nor drede by the cause thei were so used. c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1714) 138 Which by the Cause therof lyvyn in the gretter penurye. †b. for cause that: for the reason that (= because adv. 1, because conj. 1). for cause of: by reason of, on account of (= because adv. 2a); for the sake of (= because adv. 2b). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [phrase] > because of in virtue ofa1250 by (also for) reason ofa1350 by the virtue ofa1375 by the cause ofc1405 by occasion ofc1425 for cause ofc1425 by way of1447 for suit of1451 in respect of1528 in consideration of1540 in regard of1600 in intuition to1626 by or in vigour of1636 along1680 in view of1710 the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [phrase] > because of > for the sake of for cause ofc1425 for (the) respect of1489 for the regard of1576 c1425 Wyntoun Cron. vii. vii. 205 For caws þat he past til Twlows. 1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 89 Callid god of bataill, for cause of many batailles that he had. 1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxii. 214 And al he did for cause of spences and for to gadre tresour. 1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 334 For caus that tha no wald Resist the wrang. 1578 in J. G. Dalyell Scotish Poems 16th Cent. (1801) II. 154 For cause his faith was constantly In Christes blude. †c. for my (his, etc.) cause: on my (his, etc.) account, for my (his, etc.) sake. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [adverb] > because of or by reason of > for my or his sake for my (his, etc.) causea1500 a1500 (?c1450) Merlin i. 15 Ye shull neuer be Iuged to deth for my cause. a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 3396 I wald not..for my causs, that such o knycht suld dee. 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 170 I haue described and set him out in this manner..which I did for vse and customs cause. 1611 Bible (King James) 2 Cor. vii. 12 I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong. View more context for this quotation II. In legal, and related senses.In the Digest, ‘causa’ sometimes means ‘the facts of the case.’ 7. a. Law. The matter about which a person goes to law; the case of one party in a suit. Hence to plead a cause. (Cf. 1883 at sense 3b.) ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > pleading > plead [verb (intransitive)] mootOE to plead a cause1297 plead1429 society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > one's case cause1297 skilla1300 intentc1575 case1592 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 9362 Þe riȝte of is cause. c1300 Beket 1043 To bringe this cause of holi churche tofore the Pope. c1400 Mandeville's Trav. xvi. 172 Bothe partyes writen here Causes in 2 Billes. 1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) ii. iii. 38 Pletynge of a cause for his clyent. 1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique 6 The judges before whom..the determinacion of his cause resteth. 1611 Bible (King James) Exod. xxii. 9 The cause of both parties shall come before the Iudges. View more context for this quotation 1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World II. 135 He that has most opinions is most likely to carry his cause. 1801 M. Edgeworth Prussian Vase in Moral Tales III. 28 Would to Heaven, my son could have..such a trial! And..that I might plead his cause! b. figurative. ΚΠ 1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xxvi. 545 Ye can speke shrewdly wythoute a cause lawfull. 1568 Bible (Bishops') Psalms xxxv. 1 Pleade thou my cause O Lord. 1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. 6 This seemeth to argue a bad cause. 8. a. Law. A subject of litigation; a matter before a court for decision; an action, process, suit; = case n.¹ 7a. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > a case before court causec1330 casec1390 court casea1631 law-case1710 c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 128 In alle manere cause he sought þe right in skille. 1399 W. Langland Richard Redeles iii. 318 To ben of conceill for causis that in the court hangit. c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 701 To corte..Þer alle oure causez schal be tryed. 1495 Act 11 Hen. VII c. 24 §1 In any accion or cause personell. ?1530 J. Rastell Pastyme of People sig. Biv^v He was in all cawsis so indyfferent. 1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea 5 This caus could not by any pretens bee brought into judgment. 1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 201. ⁋11 He was summoned as an evidence in a cause of great importance. 1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 302 The governing power, which, in the midst of a cause, or on the prospect of it, may wholly change the rule of decision. View more context for this quotation 1879 W. B. Carpenter Princ. Mental Physiol. (ed. 5) ii. x. 436 Further proceedings having been taken in a cause which he had heard some years previously. b. Hence (Scottish) day or hour of cause: i.e. of trial; also figurative and transferred. ΚΠ 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian xii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 302 Whispering to Plumdamas that he would meet him at MacCroskie's..in the hour of cause. 1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel III. xii. 336 I will be with you in the hour of cause. c. figurative. Matter in dispute, an affair to be decided. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > debate, disputation, argument > controversy, dispute, argument > [noun] > matter of controversy causea1500 wrangle1579 vexed question1614 vexata quaestioa1634 controversial1653 battlefield1820 a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 1496 Ther god hyme-self hath ton the causs on hond. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. i. 289 What counsaile giue you in this weightie cause ? View more context for this quotation 1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 283 Ready to decide the cause by Battel. †9. a. Contextually, and in translating Latin causa or Greek αἰτία, it sometimes has or approaches the sense ‘charge, accusation, blame’. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > accusation, charge > [noun] > instance of sakec1175 challengec1315 quarrela1325 accusationa1382 cause1382 blamec1384 pointa1387 accusementa1393 chesouna1400 objectionc1410 accuse?a1439 thing1548 facing-carda1624 intentation1623 indictment1871 1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Acts xxv. 27 For to sende a boundun man, and not to signifie the cause of him. c1460 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Laud) l. 16681 The cawse of his deth they wroght abovyn his hed. a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. cxxvi^v Many..whiche laye there [sc. in the prisons] for great causes & Crymes. a1557 J. Cheke tr. Gospel St. Matthew (1843) xxiii. 37 Þei set his caus in writing over his hed. 1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 107 I pardon that mans life, what was thy cause, adultery? View more context for this quotation †b. to be in cause: to be to blame. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > be the reason for [verb (intransitive)] to be in causec1400 c1400 Rom. Rose 4525 Who was in cause..But hir silfe? c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 25 Prelats mai sore drede, þat her vniust & iuilwilly cursing be in cause whi þe puple drediþ not cursing. 1630 R. Norton tr. W. Camden Hist. Princesse Elizabeth i. 51 Shee her selfe is in cause that I cannot satisfie her. †10. a. gen. A matter of concern, an affair, business; the case as it concerns any one (cf. case n.¹ 2). Obsolete (exc. dialect) ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > affair, business, concern > [noun] thingeOE charec897 cause1393 gleea1400 affaira1425 articlea1425 conversement1455 concernment1495 subject?1541 gear1545 concerning1604 concern1659 interest1674 lookout1795 show1797 pidgin1807 put-in1853 chip1896 thang1932 1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 85 Wisdom is..Above all other thing to knowe In loves cause and elles where. 14.. Tundale's Vis. 100 His frendys by sybbe Herd of that cause that hym bytydde. 1477 Earl Rivers tr. Dictes or Sayengis Philosophhres (Caxton) (1877) lf. 33 Committe all thy causes to god. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) iii. 302 His caus ȝeid fra ill to wer. 1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. I3^v The cause craues hast. View more context for this quotation 1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. ii. 15 Pericles.., could easily reduce the exercise of his mind from secret obstrusive things to publick popular causes. 1880 M. A. Courtney Gloss. Words W. Cornwall in Gloss. Cornwall (E.D.S.) Cause, case. ‘If that's the cause I must work later.’ b. Phrases. if cause were, in cause. Obsolete exc. dialect. (Cf. case n.¹ 6, Phrases 6a, in case conj. and adv.) ΚΠ c1400 Rom. Rose 5295 He..shulde it fulfille..Except oonly in cause twoo. 1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng x. f. 10^v In that cause the lorde of the honer or manere, may take a distresse for his rentes, homages [etc.]. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Chron. (1812) I. 314 We are bounde to ayde him, in cause that he requyre..vs so to do. 1634 Malory's Most Anc. Hist. Prince Arthur ii. lxiv. 402 If cause were that they had to do with Sir Launcelot. 1696 E. Stillingfleet 12 Serm. i. 7 I may say..as our Saviour doth in another cause. c. seal of cause n. charter of incorporation. ΚΠ 1806 R. Forsyth Beauties Scotl. III. 260 The incorporation of Fleshers [of Glasgow] obtained their charter or seal of cause in 1580. 11. a. That side of a question or controversy which is espoused, advocated, and upheld by a person or party; a movement which calls forth the efforts of its supporters. (Spec. applied in Commonwealth times to the Puritan ‘cause’.) ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social relations > party or faction > [noun] > side or cause halfa885 side?a1300 quarrel1340 partya1375 parta1382 cause1588 quality1598 1588 ‘M. Marprelate’ Oh read ouer D. Iohn Bridges: Epist. 39 Terming the cause by the name of Anabaptisterie. 1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. iii. 129 It was the..publicke act of the cause. a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. iv. 12 Such temperate order in so fierce a cause . View more context for this quotation 1660 Bibliotheca Fanatica in Harl. Misc. (1746) VIII. 71/1 A pious Brother, and a real Assertor of the good old Cause. 1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. ii. 125 Zeal..made the Church, and State, and Laws, Submit t' old Iron and the Cause. 1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy Ded. sig. A2 Their Hopes or Fears for the Common Cause rose or fell with Your Lordship's Interest and Authority. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xiii. iii. 23 I shall ever esteem it the Cause of my Sex to rescue any Woman, [etc.] . View more context for this quotation 1792 E. Burke Corr. (1844) III. 472 No cause in the world can..be more clear in my eyes..than that of the Poles. 1827 H. Hallam Constit. Hist. Eng. II. x. 132 The good old cause, as the commonwealth's men affected to style the interests of their little faction. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Two Voices in Poems (new ed.) II. 126 In some good cause,..To perish. 1884 W. E. Gladstone in Standard 29 Feb. 2/7 We should be traitors to the cause we profess to have taken in hand. b. Hence to make common cause (with): to join in behalf of a common object. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social relations > association for a common purpose > associate for common purpose [verb (intransitive)] jousta1325 ally?a1400 joinc1400 associe1441 confederc1460 to stick together1525 band1530 to join forces1560 colleaguec1565 alliance1569 to enter league1578 unite1579 interleague1590 confederate1591 to join hands1598 combine1608 injointa1616 combinda1626 bandy1633 comply1646 federate1648 leaguea1649 associate1653 coalesce1657 to understand each other1663 sociate1688 to row in the same (also in one) boat1787 rendezvous1817 to make common cause (with)1845 to sing the same song1846 cahoot1857 to gang up1910 jungle1922 1845 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 I. iv. 209 Before they made common cause with either French or English. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 101 The two parties..united their strength in a common cause. 1863 M. Howitt tr. F. Bremer Greece & Greeks II. xiv. 114 Epirus will make common cause with Thessaly. c. Hence applied colloquially in some religious bodies, to their ‘cause’ as embodied in a particular local organization, enterprise, mission, or church. ΚΠ 1889 N.E.D. at Cause Mod. Several new causes have been started in the county during the year. The Baptists have a flourishing cause in the village. †12. Disease, sickness. Obsolete. [A sense, simply transferred from late Latin, as to the origin of which see the Latin dictionaries. In English often vaguely associated with other senses, and used accordingly.] ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > [noun] unhealc700 untrumnessc897 adleeOE sicknessc967 cothec1000 unhealthc1000 woe?a1200 ail?c1225 lying?c1225 maladyc1275 unsoundc1275 feebless1297 languora1375 languishc1384 disease1393 aegritudea1400 lamea1400 maleasea1400 soughta1400 wilc1400 malefaction?a1425 firmityc1426 unwholesomenessc1449 ill1450 languenta1500 distemperancea1535 the valley of the shadow of death1535 affect?1537 affection?1541 distemperature1541 inability1547 sickliness1565 languishment1576 cause1578 unhealthfulness1589 crazedness1593 languorment1593 evilness1599 strickenness1599 craziness1602 distemper1604 unsoundness1605 invaletude1623 unhealthiness1634 achaque1647 unwellness1653 disailment1657 insalubrity1668 faintiness1683 queerness1687 invalidity1690 illness1692 ill health1698 ailment1708 illing1719 invalescence1724 peakingness1727 sickishness1727 valetudinariness1742 ailingness1776 brash1786 invalidism1794 poorliness1814 diseasement1826 invalidship1830 valetudinarianism1839 ailing1862 invalidhood1863 megrims1870 pourriture1890 immersement1903 bug1918 condition1920 1490 Arte & Crafte to knowe well to Dye (Caxton) 2 What some euer mater or cause be layd to him.. he oughte to suffre and receyue it pacyently. 1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure xviii. xvii I your cause can nothing remedy.] 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iii. xxvi. 353 Hellebor may not be ministred except in desperate causes. 1585 H. Llwyd tr. Pope John XXI Treasury of Health (new ed.) sig. F iij In a hote cause, lettis made in a playster is much worth. a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) ii. i. 110 Toucht With that malignant cause . View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iii. i. 234 Leaue vs to cure this Cause . View more context for this quotation Compounds C1. General attributive. cause-monger n. ΚΠ 1837 Edinb. Rev. 64 491 These cause-mongers go also to the storehouse of their fancy. cause-renderer n. ΚΠ a1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. ii. viii, in Wks. (1640) III For, a cause-renderer, hath sometime the force of a severing one. cause-seeking adj. ΚΠ 1877 J. Tyndall in Daily News 2 Oct. 2/4 He has been described by the German Lichtenberg as ‘das rastlose Ursachenthier’—the restless cause-seeking animal. causewise adv. ΚΠ 1869 Act 32 & 33 Victoria c. 91 Sched. i. 1./2 Accounts of various suitors kept cause~wise. C2. cause-book n. a book in which legal causes are entered. ΘΚΠ society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > action of courts in claims or grievances > [noun] > a case before court > book of legal cases casebook1675 cause-book1885 1885 Law Times Rep. 52 574/2 The cause was re-entered in the cause-book. cause-list n. a list of causes to be tried. cause petition n. (see quot.) ΚΠ 1840 Penny Cycl. XVIII. 33/1 A petition is an application in writing, addressed to the lord chancellor, the master of the rolls, or to the Equity side of the Court of Exchequer, in which the petitioner states certain facts as the ground on which he prays for the order and direction of the court... A cause petition is a petition in a matter of which the court has already possession by virtue of there being a suit concerning the matter of the petition; and the petitioner is generally either a party to such suit, or he derives a title to some interest in the subject matter of the suit from a party to it. When there is no suit existing about the matter of the petition, it is called an ex parte petition. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online December 2019). causev.¹ Brit. /kɔːz/, U.S. /kɔz/, /kɑz/ Forms: Also Middle English cawse, cawes, 1500s causse. Etymology: < medieval Latin causāre, as used, by the Schoolmen, in sense ‘efficere’. (Classical Latin had only causāri (later causāre) to plead causes, give reasons or excuses. Hence also Italian causare, Spanish cauzar, French causer, all in same sense as English.) 1. a. transitive. To be the cause of; to effect, bring about, produce, induce, make. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > [verb (transitive)] wieldeOE timberc897 letc900 rearOE doOE i-wendeOE workOE makeOE bringc1175 raisec1175 shapec1315 to owe (also have) a wold (also on wield)a1325 procurec1330 purchasec1330 causec1340 conform1377 performa1382 excite1398 induce1413 occasionate?c1450 occasionc1454 to bring about1480 gara1500 to bring to passc1513 encause1527 to work out1534 inferc1540 excitate?1549 import1550 ycause1563 frame1576 effect1581 to bring in1584 effectuatea1586 apport?1591 introduce1605 create1607 generate1607 cast1633 efficiate1639 conciliate1646 impetrate1647 state1654 accompass1668 to bring to bear1668 to bring on1671 effectivate1717 makee1719 superinduce1837 birth1913 the mind > will > motivation > motivate [verb (transitive)] > incite or instigate > impel or prompt shapec1330 causec1340 servec1380 treat1387 movec1390 promove1477 promote1530 instinct1549 misgive1587 prompt1602 apprompt1605 c1340 R. Rolle Prose Treat. viii. 17 A fantasye caused of trubblyng of þe brayne. 1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 107 They [the stars] causen many a wonder To the climats, that stond hem under. c1430 Chev. Assigne 39 His moder..þat cawsed moche sorowe. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Biiii That..oftentymes causeth heresyes and errours. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 119 A Drench of Wine..the Patient's death did cause . View more context for this quotation 1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 21 How small, of all that human hearts endure, That part which laws or kings can cause or cure. 1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues IV. 47 The ruin of their empire..was caused by the loss of freedom and the growth of despotism. b. Const. object and infinitive with (formerly also without) to. ΚΠ 1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 114 It causeth..A man to be subtil of wit. c1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iv. 543 How durst thou..to be so bold To cawse hym dy? 1552 Abp. J. Hamilton Catech. i. ii. f. 9^v It sall cause the cum in greit dangeir. 1611 Bible (King James) Amos viii. 9 I will cause the Sunne to go downe at noone. View more context for this quotation 1612 B. Jonson Alchemist ii. iii. sig. D3^v Take heed, you doe not cause the blessing leaue you. View more context for this quotation 1625 J. Hart Anat. Urines ii. iv. 73 I caused him bleed oftner then once. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 216 Out of the fertil ground he caus'd to grow All Trees. View more context for this quotation 1846 W. R. Grove On Correlation Physical Forces 6 It is the gravitation of the water which causes it to flow. c. with object and infinitive passive. ΚΠ a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. iii. f. vi They..caused great fyres to be made. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms civ. [cv.] 20 Then sent the kinge and caused him be delyuered. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. i. sig. Cc3 She caused them be led..Into a bowre. 1678 N. Wanley Wonders Little World v. ii. §84. 472/2 He..caused his five Brethren to be all strangled in his presence. 1821 J. Q. Adams in C. Davies Metr. Syst. iii. 127 To cause a statement in writing..to be hung up in some conspicuous place. †d. with infinitive simply, as to cause make, to have or get (something) made, cause (it) to be made. (Cf. French faire faire, etc.) Obsolete ? exc. Scottish. ΚΠ 1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Kings ii. 36 The kynge sent, and caused for to call Semei. a1649 W. Drummond Hist. James I in Wks. (1711) 5 The King..caused abolish the Indictment. 1693 T. Urquhart & P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais 3rd Bk. Wks. xliv. 358 She caused kill them. 1753 Scots Mag. Feb. 91/2 The directors had caused prepare the draught. 1820 J. Mair Tyro's Dict. (ed. 10) 5 Numa caused make eleven more [shields] of the same form. e. with object sentence. archaic. ΚΠ 1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 108 That causeth why that some passe Her due cours to-fore another. ?1518 Virgilius sig. aiiij She..caused that workemen shulde make the walles ageyne. 1611 Bible (King James) John xi. 37 Could not this man..haue caused that euen this man should not haue died? View more context for this quotation 1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 93 This caus'd, that many died frequently..in the Streets suddainly. †2. To actuate, move, force, drive (an agent) to (some action or emotion). Obsolete. ΚΠ a1500 (?c1400) Sir Triamour (Cambr.) (1937) l. 641 Grete nede cawsyth hur therto. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 13402 What causet the kyng to his cleane yre. †3. As vb. of incomplete predication: To make or render (a thing something). (Cf. Latin efficere.) ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > [verb (transitive)] > cause to be or become seta1000 workOE makeOE puta1382 turna1393 yieldc1430 breedc1460 rendera1522 devolve1533 cause1576 infer1667 1576 G. Baker tr. C. Gesner Newe Jewell of Health ii. f. 90 If oftener it shall be dystilled, it is then caused the effectuouser. 1576 G. Baker tr. C. Gesner Newe Jewell of Health ii. f. 113 It..causeth them also most white. 1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 82^v An honest life will cause it a pleasaunt liuinge. †4. To give reasons or excuses [= Latin causāri]. ΘΚΠ society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > excuse > make excuses [verb (intransitive)] cause1590 apologize1609 to whip the devil round the stump (also post)1776 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. ix. sig. Ll4^v He to shifte their curious request, Gan causen, why she could not come in place. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online March 2019). causev.² Etymology: < French cause-r to talk, chat. rare^—1. To speak familiarly, converse, talk, chat. ΚΠ 1845 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 352 I have caused face to face with elements. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online March 2018). † causev.³ Obsolete. rare. ? To cast or shed. ΚΠ c1420 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 862 Thaire myddel teeth aboue at two yere age Thai cause, at yeres iiii an other gage. Ere yeres six gothe the gomes stronge, The caused first at yeres vi are even. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online June 2018). cause'causeconj. Etymology: An elliptic use of cause n. for because (dialect a-cause). Obsolete exc. dialect. †1. (with of) = because adv., conj., and n. of, on account of. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [conjunction] > because of causea1513 a1513 H. Bradshaw Lyfe St. Werburge (1521) ii. xvi. sig. q.i^v Churches..were gyuen To god and saynt Werburge cause of deuocion. 2. = because adv., conj., and n. Since c1600 often written 'cause; now only dialect, or vulgar; also spelt cos, coz, cuz, case, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [conjunction] > because forth thatc888 for-thonOE forthy thec1000 for thatc1175 forthon thatc1175 forwhyc1384 for why thata1400 cause1556 'cos1828 1556 W. Lauder Compend. Tractate Dewtie of Kyngis sig. B3^v Ȝe suld not chuse thame, cause ȝe lufe thame. 1592 C. Marlowe Jew of Malta iv. ii. 1535 Do you mean to strangle me? Yes, cause you use to confess. 1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 169 It was the more terrible, cause hee had seene Mecha and neuer after lied. 1653 in Walton Angler xi. 218 I cannot hate thee [Musick], 'cause the Angels love thee. 1682 N. O. tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin ii. Argt. 'Cause he had left her in the Lurch. 1711 E. Ward Vulgus Britannicus (ed. 3) iv. 121 'Cause none will credit what they say. 18.. Prout in Burrowes Rem. 267 All for what? 'Kase his courage was good. 1884 Harper's Mag. Feb. 411/2 Jason pitied her 'cause she was lonesome. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online September 2018). < n.?c1225v.¹c1340v.²1845v.³c1420conj.a1513
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causen.

Compounds

causev.1

causev.2

† causev.3

cause'causeconj.

causev.¹

causev.²

† causev.³