Noun

(en noun)

The source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result.

Her wedding will be cause for celebration.

They identified a burst pipe as the cause of the flooding.

* , chapter=5

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.}}

A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends.

* Shakespeare

God befriend us, as our cause is just.

* Burke

The part they take against me is from zeal to the cause .

(obsolete) Sake; interest; advantage.

* Bible, 2 Corinthians vii. 12

I did it not for his cause .

(obsolete) Any subject of discussion or debate; a matter; an affair.

* Shakespeare

What counsel give you in this weighty cause ?

(legal) A suit or action in court; any legal process by which a party endeavors to obtain his claim, or what he regards as his right; case; ground of action.

Noun

(en noun)

A favorable opportunity; a convenient or timely chance.

* Bible, Rom. vii. 11

Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me.

* Waller

I'll take the occasion which he gives to bring / Him to his death.

The time when something happens.

*, chapter=13

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them.}}

An occurrence or state of affairs which causes some event or reaction; a motive or reason.

Something which causes something else; a cause.

* 1624 , John Smith, Generall Historie , in Kupperman 1988, p. 130:

it were too vile to say, and scarce to be beleeved, what we endured: but the occasion was our owne, for want of providence, industrie and government [...].

(obsolete) An occurrence or incident.

A particular happening; an instance or time when something occurred.

*{{quote-news, year=2013, date=April 9, author=Andrei Lankov, title=Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff., work=New York Times citation

, passage=In the last two decades, North Korea has on various occasions conducted highly provocative missile and nuclear tests and promised to turn Seoul into a sea of fire. }}

Need; requirement, necessity.

*

, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=2 , passage=I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town. I was completely mystified at such an unusual proceeding.}}

* Jeremy Taylor

after we have served ourselves and our own occasions

* Burke

when my occasions took me into France

A special event or function.

A reason or excuse; a motive; a persuasion.

* Spenser

Whose manner was, all passengers to stay, / And entertain with her occasions sly.