cause
noun
Cause — the hidden hand behind every effect
Definition
Any entity that produces an effect or is responsible for events or results
In depth
A cause is whatever produces an effect or stands responsible for an event, the invisible thread linking what happens to why it happened. The word carries enormous explanatory weight in both science and storytelling, since to identify a cause is to claim that the world, however chaotic, can ultimately be made to make sense.
Origin
The word descends from Latin causa, meaning reason, motive, or legal case, entering English through Old French in the medieval period already carrying both its philosophical and legal senses intact. That dual inheritance — cause as explanation and cause as cherished mission — has never fully separated, which is why the same word can describe a chemical reaction and a lifelong devotion.
Usage examples
"The detective was less interested in the crime itself than in its cause, the small grievance that had festered for years."
"Physicians searched for months for the cause of her fatigue before finally naming it."
"He had given his life to a cause he could no longer quite remember choosing."
How to use it
Cause is a foundational word across nearly every register, from courtroom argument to casual conversation, and its dual meaning — both 'that which produces an effect' and 'a goal or movement one supports' — gives writers room for deliberate ambiguity, letting a single sentence gesture toward both senses at once.
Related concepts
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