causa

causa

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

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈkaw.zə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈkaw.za]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -awza
• Hyphenation: cau‧sa

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

causa f (plural causes)

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

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

causa

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

• “causa”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

From Latin causa.

causa f

1. thing

• IPA^(key): /ko.za/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Homophones: causas, causât

causa

1. third-person singular past historic of causer

• IPA^(key): /ˈkawsa/ [ˈkɑw.s̺ɐ]
• Rhymes: -awsa
• Hyphenation: cau‧sa

Learned borrowing from Latin causa. Doublet of the inherited cousa.

causa f (plural causas)

1. cause

• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “causa”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “causa”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “causa”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “causa”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

causa

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

causa (plural causas)

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

• causal

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaw.sa/
• Rhymes: -awsa
• Hyphenation: càu‧sa

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

causa f (plural cause)

1. cause
2. (law) lawsuit

   Synonym: lite

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

causa

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

• a causa di
• causare

• causale
• cosa

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

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).

• causa:
  • (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈkau̯.sa]
  • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈkaːu̯.sa]
• causā:
  • (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈkau̯.saː]
  • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈkaːu̯.sa]

causa f (genitive causae); first declension

1. cause, reason

   qua de causa/qua de re/quam ob causam ― for this reason/therefore

   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 1.42:

     Caesar, quod neque conloquium interposita causa tolli volebat neque salutem suam Gallorum equitatui committere audebat, commodissimum esse statuit omnibus equis Gallis equitibus detractis eo legionarios milites legionis X., cui quam maxime confidebat, imponere, ut praesidium quam amicissimum, si quid opus facto esset, haberet.

     Caesar, as he didn't want either the interview to be for any reason set aside or confide his wellbeing in the hands of the Gallic cavalry, said he saw as most fit the Gallic horsemen be stripped off their steeds and in their place mount legionaries of the 10th legion, in which he had the utmost faith, that he might have as trusted a body-guard as one could have if the occasion ever urged its use.

   • 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.)

2. (law) case, claim, contention
3. cause, judicial process, lawsuit

   Synonym: cognitiō

4. motive, reason, pretext, inducement, motivation
   • 166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 149–150:

     SĪMŌ: Nē haec quidem / satis vehemēns causa ad objūrgandum.

     SIMO: Even this was not a strong enough reason to reprimand [my son].

5. condition, occasion, situation, state
6. (figuratively) justification, explanation
7. (Late Latin) thing

First-declension noun.

causā (+ genitive)

1. for the sake of, on account of

   urbis causā ― for the sake of the city

• “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, 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^[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)
    
• Dizionario Latino, Olivetti

• IPA^(key): [ˈkawzo]

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

Borrowed from Latin causa.

causa f (plural causas)

1. cause

   Synonym: encausa

• causar

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

causa f (plural causas)

1. (Gascony, Languedoc) thing

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

• Diccionari General de la Lenga Occitana‎^[2], L’Academia occitana – Consistòri del Gai Saber, 2008-2025, page 157

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -awzɐ
• Hyphenation: cau‧sa

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

causa f (plural causas)

1. cause, reason
2. (law) suit, lawsuit
3. goal, aim

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

causa

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

• “causa”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “causa”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2026
• “causa” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “causa”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “causa”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “causa”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaw.sa/, [ˈkaw.sa], [ˈka.ʊ.sa], [ˈka.βʊ.sa]
• Rhymes: -awsa, -aʊsa, -aβʊsa
• Hyphenation: càu‧sa

Possibly from Occitan cauça, from Vulgar Latin *calcea (through the intermediates calza~cauza), ultimately from Latin calceus. Cognate with Italian calza (calzetta, calzone).

• canza (nasalized from earlier calza)

causa f (plural causi)

1. (dated, clothing) Any garment worn from the feet up, possibly reaching to the waist.

   Synonym: causetta

2. (pluralia tantum) causi: pants, trousers, pantaloons

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

• cosa (inherited)

causa f (plural causi)

1. cause
2. (law) lawsuit

   Synonym: sciarra

• IPA^(key): /ˈkausa/ [ˈkau̯.sa]

• Audio (Mexico):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ausa
• Syllabification: cau‧sa

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

causa f (plural causas)

1. cause
2. (law) lawsuit

   Synonyms: proceso, litigio, pleito

Borrowed from Quechua kawsay (“life”), influenced by the term above.

causa f (plural causas)

1. a dish in Peruvian cuisine made with potatoes and layered or topped with meat or vegetables

   Synonyms: causa a la limeña, causa limeña

2. (colloquial, Peru, slang) dude, mate, bro

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:tío

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

causa

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

• “causa”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “causa”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010
• 1. DiPerú | Diccionario de peruanismos en línea
• 2. DiPerú | Diccionario de peruanismos en línea