Cause

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /kɔːz/

Definitions

1. Something that makes an event happen or produces an effect
2. An entity or situation that leads to an effect or outcome
3. The factor or agent from which a result or change originates ; the explanation or rationale behind a particular event or occurrence

Etymology: Before "cause" meant a reason, the Latin "causa" was a legal and practical word: a lawsuit, a case, or a matter at stake. English took it in through Old French in the Middle English period, when "cause" still carried the old sense of "a thing" alongside its meaning of an explanation. That older sense survives in a neighbouring word. "Chose," meaning a thing or personal property in law, comes from the same Old French source, so the two are doublets, one borrowed early and one borrowed later. English already had a word for reason before "cause" arrived. The native Old English "intinga" meant something similar, and "cause" pushed it out of use. The verb "to cause" came from the Old French "causer," which was built on the Medieval Latin "causāre," meaning to make a plea or to bring about. The Latin origin of "causa" itself is unknown. Its ancestor in Proto-Italic has no traceable earlier root that scholars have agreed on.

Synonyms: reason, motive, factor, grounds, occasion

Antonyms: effect, result, consequence, outcome