cause

n. 原因；事业；目标

vt. 引起；使遭受

中文词源

cause 原因

来自拉丁词causa, 原因，词源同because.

cause: cause: [13] Cause comes via Old French cause from Latin causa, which as well as ‘reason’ meant ‘law-suit’; this was carried over into English legal language (it survives in terms such as cause-list ‘list of cases to be tried’) and its use in expressions like ‘plead someone’s cause’ led in the late 16th century to a more general application ‘goal or principle pursued or supported’. French chose ‘thing’ also comes from Latin causa, in the weakened sense ‘matter, subject’.
=> excuse
cause (n.): c. 1200, "reason for action, grounds for action; motive," from Old French cause "cause, reason; lawsuit, case in law" (12c.), and directly from Latin causa "a cause; a reason; interest; judicial process, lawsuit," which is of unknown origin. In English, sense of "matter of concern; side taken in controversy" is from c. 1300; that of "the source of an effect" is early 14c.; meaning "reason for something taking place" is late 14c. Cause célèbre "celebrated legal case" is 1763, from French. Cause why? "for what reason?" is in Chaucer.
cause (v.): late 14c., "produce an effect," also "impel, compel," from Old French causer "to cause" (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin causare, from Latin causa "a cause; a reason; interest; judicial process, lawsuit," which is of unknown origin. Related: Caused; causing. Classical Latin causari meant "to plead, to debate a question."

1. His misunderstanding of language was the primary cause of his other problems.: 他对语言的误解是引起其他问题的主要原因。

2. Accidents are still the number one cause of premature death for Americans.: 交通事故仍然是造成美国人过早死亡的头号因素。

3. Investment could dry up and that could cause the economy to falter.: 投资可能会中断，而这会引起经济衰退。

4. This was a genuine mistake, but it did cause me some worry.: 这是好心办错事，可是确实让我担心了一阵子。