causa

See also: causá and causà

Contents

Asturian

Verb

causa

1. inflection of causar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

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Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ˈkaw.zə/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈkaw.za/
• Rhymes: -a

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin causa. Doublet of the inherited cosa. Cognates include English cause, French cause, Italian causa, Portuguese causa, Spanish causa.

Noun

causa f (plural causes)

1. cause (the source of, the reason for)
2. lawsuit

Derived terms

• a causa de
• causal
• causar

Etymology 2

Verb

causa

1. third-person singular present indicative form of causar
2. second-person singular imperative form of causar

Further reading

• “causa” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

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Dalmatian

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *cosa, from Latin causa.

Noun

causa f

1. thing

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French

Verb

causa

1. third-person singular past historic of causer

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Interlingua

Noun

causa (plural causas)

1. cause (someone or something that causes a result)

Related terms

• causal

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Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin causa. Doublet of the inherited cosa. Cognates include English cause, French cause, Portuguese causa, Spanish causa.

Noun

causa f (plural cause)

1. cause
2. lawsuit

Synonyms

• lite (“lawsuit”)

Verb

causa

1. inflection of causare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Derived terms

• a causa di
• causare

Related terms

• causale
• cosa

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Latin

Alternative forms

• caussa (used by Cicero and a little after him)

Etymology

From Old Latin caussa, further origin unknown.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈkau̯.sa/

Noun

causa f (genitive causae); first declension

1. cause, reason
2. case, claim, contention
3. motive, pretext
4. situation, condition
5. (figuratively) justification, explanation
6. (Medieval Latin) thing

Declension

First declension.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	causa	causae
Genitive	causae	causārum
Dative	causae	causīs
Accusative	causam	causās
Ablative	causā	causīs
Vocative	causa	causae

Derived terms

• accūsō
• causidicus
• causor
• causula
• excūsō
• incūsō
• recūsō

Postposition

causā (+ genitive)

1. for the sake of or on account of

   urbis causā (“for the sake of the city”).

Derived terms

• dicis causā
• in causā sum
• sine causā

Descendants

• Asturian: cosa, cousa
• Basque: gauza
• Catalan: cosa, causa (borrowed)
• English: cause, chose (in law, via French)
• Dalmatian: causa
• Franco-Provençal: chousa
• French: chose, cause (borrowed)
• Friulian: cjosse, čhosse, cause (borrowed)
• Galician: cousa
• Irish: cúis
• Italian: cosa, causa (borrowed)

• Ladin: cossa
• Occitan: causa, chausa, còsa, cauva
• Picard: cose
• Portuguese: coisa, cousa, causa (borrowed)
• Romansch: chaussa, caussa, tgossa, chosa
• Romanian: cauză (borrowed)
• Sardinian: cosa
• Sicilian: cosa
• Spanish: cosa, causa (borrowed)
• Venetian: cosa
• Walloon: tchôze

References

• causa in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• causa in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• causa in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• causa in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • on the spur of the moment: temporis causa
    
  • to make not the slightest effort; not to stir a finger: manum non vertere alicuius rei causa
    
  • my position is considerably improved; my prospects are brighter: res meae meliore loco, in meliore causa sunt
    
  • my circumstances have not altered: eadem est causa mea or in eadem causa sum
    
  • to quote as a reason; give as excuse: causam afferre
    
  • for valid reasons: iustis de causis
    
  • cogent, decisive reasons: magnae (graves) necessariae causae
    
  • on good grounds; reasonably: non sine causa
    
  • how came it that...: quid causae fuit cur...?
    
  • the motive, cause, is to be found in..: causa posita est in aliqua re
    
  • the motive, cause, is to be found in..: causa repetenda est ab aliqua re (not quaerenda)
    
  • I was induced by several considerations to..: multae causae me impulerunt ad aliquid or ut...
    
  • to interpose, put forward an argument, a reason: causam interponere or interserere
    
  • to find a suitable pretext: causam idoneam nancisci
    
  • under the pretext, pretence of..: per causam (with Gen.)
    
  • cause and effect: causae rerum et consecutiones
    
  • extraneous causes: causae extrinsecus allatae (opp. in ipsa re positae)
    
  • concatenation, interdependence of causes: rerum causae aliae ex aliis nexae
    
  • to leave the question open; to refuse to commit oneself: integrum (causam integram) sibi reservare
    
  • to be favourably disposed towards: alicuius causa velle or cupere
    
  • to speak of some one respectfully: honoris causa aliquem nominare or appellare
    
  • for one's own diversion; to satisfy a whim: voluptatis or animi causa (B. G. 5. 12)
    
  • in memory of..: memoriae causa, ad (not in) memoriam (Brut. 16. 62)
    
  • to cite a person or a thing as an example: aliquem (aliquid) exempli causa ponere, proferre, nominare, commemorare
    
  • a digression, episode: quod ornandi causa additum est
    
  • for political reasons: rei publicae causa (Sest. 47. 101)
    
  • to embrace the cause of..., be a partisan of..: alicuius partes (causam) or simply aliquem sequi
    
  • the aristocracy (as a party in politics): boni cives, optimi, optimates, also simply boni (opp. improbi); illi, qui optimatium causam agunt
    
  • to take up the cause of the people, democratic principles: causam popularem suscipere or defendere
    
  • to be a leading spirit of the popular cause: populi causam agere
    
  • to hold an inquiry into a matter: aliquid, causam cognoscere
    
  • without any examination: incognita causa (cf. sect. XV. 3, indicta causa)
    
  • a civil case: causa privata
    
  • a criminal case: causa publica (Brut. 48. 178)
    
  • to conduct a person's case (said of an agent, solicitor): causam alicuius agere (apud iudicem)
    
  • to address the court (of the advocate): causam dicere, orare (Brut. 12. 47)
    
  • to defend oneself before the judge (of the accused): causam dicere
    
  • to defend a person: causam dicere pro aliquo
    
  • to conduct some one's defence in a case: causam alicuius defendere
    
  • to have a good case: causam optimam habere (Lig. 4. 10)
    
  • to gain a weak case by clever pleading: causam inferiorem dicendo reddere superiorem (λόγον κρείττω ποιειν) (Brut. 8. 30)
    
  • counsel; advocate: patronus (causae) (De Or. 2. 69)
    
  • to undertake a case: causam suscipere
    
  • to undertake a case: ad causam aggredi or accedere
    
  • without going to law: indicta causa (opp. cognita causa)
    
  • to win a case: causam or litem obtinere
    
  • to lose one's case: causam or litem amittere, perdere
    
  • to decide on the conduct of the case: iudicare causam (de aliqua re)
    

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Occitan

Alternative forms

• chausa (Auvernhat, Limousin, Provençal, Vivaro-Alpine)
• còsa (Guardiol)
• cauva (Provençal)

Etymology

From Old Occitan [Term?], inherited from Latin causa (in these dialects/varieties). Cf. also encausa (“cause”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkawzo]

Noun

causa f (plural causas)

1. (Gascony, Languedoc) thing

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Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin causa. Doublet of the inherited coisa and cousa. Cognates include English cause, French cause, Italian causa, Spanish causa.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈkawzɐ/
• Hyphenation: cau‧sa

Noun

causa f (plural causas)

1. cause, reason
2. suit, lawsuit
3. goal, aim

Verb

causa

1. Third-person singular (ele, ela, also used with tu and você^?) present indicative of causar
2. Second-person singular (tu) affirmative imperative of causar

Related terms

• causal
• causar

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Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin causa. Doublet of the inherited cosa. Cognates include English cause, French cause, Italian causa, Portuguese causa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkausa/, [ˈkau̯sa]
• Hyphenation: cau‧sa

• Audio (Latin America)

  (file)

Noun

causa f (plural causas)

1. cause
2. lawsuit
3. A dish in Peruvian cuisine made with potatoes and layered or topped with meat or vegetables

Related terms

• causal
• causar
• acusar
• cosa

Verb

causa

1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of causar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of causar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of causar.