causa
- caussa (used by Cicero and a little after him)
Etymology
From Old Latin caussa, from Proto-Italic *kaussā, further origin unknown. Connected by some to Latin cudo (“I strike”), in the sense "strike a cause," in which the Proto-Indo-European form would be *kewh₂-ud-ʰ-t-, from *kewh₂- (“to cut, strike”).[1][2] Others are skeptical of an Indo-European origin.[3] Related to Etruscan 𐌂𐌀𐌅𐌔𐌀 (cavsa).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈkau̯.sa/, [ˈkäu̯s̠ä]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈkau̯.sa/, [ˈkäːu̯sä]
Noun
causa f (genitive causae); first declension
- cause, reason [ quotations ▼]
- qua de causa/qua de re/quam ob causam ― for this reason/therefore
- (law) case, claim, contention
- cause, judicial process, lawsuit [ synonym ▲]
- Synonym: cognitiō
- motive, reason, pretext, inducement, motivation
- condition, occasion, situation, state
- (figuratively) justification, explanation
- (Medieval Latin) thing
Declension
First-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | causa | causae |
| Genitive | causae | causārum |
| Dative | causae | causīs |
| Accusative | causam | causās |
| Ablative | causā | causīs |
| Vocative | causa | causae |