because
Contents
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English bi cause, from bi (“by”) + cause, modelled on Old French par cause.
PronunciationEdit
AdverbEdit
because (not comparable)
- (archaic) For the reason (that).
- 1611, Authorized King James Version of Genesis 2:3:
- And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
- 1611, Authorized King James Version of Genesis 2:3:
- On account (of), for sake (of).
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My life is ruined because of you!
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- Used alone to refuse to provide a full answer a question begun with "why", usually taken as an anapodoton of the elided full phrase "Because I said so".
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
on account
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ConjunctionEdit
because
- By or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that.
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I hid myself because I was afraid.
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1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:
- I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.
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2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
- In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.
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1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 17, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
- “Perhaps it is because I have been excommunicated. It's absurd, but I feel like the Jackdaw of Rheims.” ¶ She winced and bowed her head. Each time that he spoke flippantly of the Church he caused her pain.
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- As is known, inferred, or determined from the fact that.
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It must be broken, because I pressed the button and nothing happened.
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He's not a nice guy, because he yells at people for no reason.
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- (obsolete) So that, in order that. [15th-17th c.]
- 1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy, Oxford: Printed by Iohn Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, OCLC 216894069:, II.3.2:
- Simon […] set the house on fire where he was born, because nobody should point at it.
- 1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy, Oxford: Printed by Iohn Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, OCLC 216894069:, II.3.2:
SynonymsEdit
- (for the reason that): therefore, since, for, for that, forthy, for sake, forwhy, as, inasmuch as, sith (obsolete), ∵ (mathematics symbol)
TranslationsEdit
by or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that
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as known because; as inferred because; as determined because
PrepositionEdit
because
- (uncommon, slang, especially Internet) On account of, because of. [since at least the 20th century]
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I went to the store because hungry.
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Derived termsEdit
StatisticsEdit
Most common English words before 1923 in Project Gutenberg: between · face · tell · #175: because · few · whom · love
ReferencesEdit
- Glossa, volume 17 (1997), page 175: cf. Emonds 1976:175 on the analysis of Modern English because as a preposition introducing a clause