cause

The story

1. Medieval Latin · derived fromcausāre
2. Old French · derived fromcauser
3. Middle English · inherited fromcausen
4. Proto-Italic · derived from*kaussā
5. Latin · derived fromcausa“reason, sake, cause”
6. Old French · derived fromcause“a cause, a thing”
7. Middle English · inherited fromcause
8. English todaycause

* From Middle English cause (also with the sense of “a thing”), borrowed from Old French cause (“a cause, a thing”), borrowed from Latin causa (“reason, sake, cause”), from Proto-Italic *kaussā, which is of unknown origin. Doublet of chose (“(law) a thing; personal property”). See accuse, excuse, recuse, ruse. Displaced native Old English intinga. * From Middle English causen, Old French causer and Medieval Latin causāre.

Words from the same roots