Causing

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈkɔːzɪŋ/

Definitions

1. Bringing about a certain result by influencing circumstances
2. Producing an effect or result through action or influence
3. Creating a change or outcome by acting on a situation

Etymology: "Causing" is the present participle of "cause," which came into English in the 13th century from Old French "cause," itself from Latin "causa," meaning "reason, cause, lawsuit, or legal case." The Latin noun had a legal sense before a general one: a "causa" was the matter argued before a court, and the idea of a reason for an outcome grew out of that courtroom sense of a case and its grounds. The verb took its present shape gradually. English first used "cause" as a noun for a reason or motive and only later as a verb meaning to bring something about. The "-ing" ending is the ordinary English suffix that turns a verb into a participle, so "causing" adds nothing new to the root beyond grammar. Its sense of producing an effect by acting on a situation is simply the verb's standard meaning, extended into the continuous form.

Synonyms: producing, creating

Antonyms: preventing, stopping