Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Cause in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels cause as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913noun
Cause

[F. cause, fr. L. causa. Cf. Cause, v., Kickshaw.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordcause
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[F. cause, fr. L. causa. Cf. Cause, v., Kickshaw.]
Selected historical definitionThat which produces or effects a result; that from which anything proceeds, and without which it would not exist.
Signed record IDwebster1913-cause-noun-71eaf2743dd0
Source locatorCIDE.C, paragraph 3899; Gutenberg eBook 661
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 661Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "cause" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[F. cause, fr. L. causa. Cf. Cause, v., Kickshaw.]" The selected historical definition says: "That which produces or effects a result; that from which anything proceeds, and without which it would not exist."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-09-05

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released C records

Every card owns a different source record and historical sense.

noun

Company

[F. compagnie, fr. OF. compaing. See Companion.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Care

[AS. caru, cearu; akin to OS. kara sorrow, Goth. kara, OHG chara, lament, and perh. to Gr. gh^rys voice. Not akin to cure. Cf. Chary.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Change

[F. change, fr. changer. See Change. v. t.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Came

[Cf. Scot. came, caim, comb, and OE. camet silver.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Course

[F. cours, course, L. cursus, fr. currere to run. See Current.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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