- caussa (used by Cicero and a little after him)
Noun
causa f (genitive causae); first declension
- cause, reason
- qua de causa/qua de re/quam ob causam ― for this reason/therefore
29 BCE – 19 BCE,
Virgil,
Aeneid 4.169–170:
- Ille diēs prīmus lētī prīmusque malōrum
causa fuit [...].- That day – a first of death, and onset of misery – it was the cause [of everything].
(The union of Dido and Aeneas begets tragedy.)
- (law) case, claim, contention
- cause, judicial process, lawsuit
- Synonym: cognitiō
- motive, reason, pretext, inducement, motivation
- condition, occasion, situation, state
- (figuratively) justification, explanation
- (Medieval Latin) thing
Postposition
causā (+ genitive)
- for the sake of, on account of
- urbis causā ― for the sake of the city
Descendants
- Dalmatian:
- Italo-Romance:
- Italian: cosa
- Neapolitan: cosa
- → Occitan: còsa (Guardia Piemontese)
- Sicilian: cosa
- Rhaeto-Romance:
- Venetan:
- Gallo-Italic:
- Gallo-Romance:
- Occitano-Romance:
- Ibero-Romance:
- Insular Romance:
- Ancient borrowings:
- Later borrowings:
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 with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- causa in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, 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)
- Dizionario Latino, Olivetti
Roberts, Edward A. (2014) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “100-01”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page causa
