because
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English
Alternative forms
- (obsolete) bycause, (dialectal) becos
- (slang) 'cause, cos, cuz, coz, 'cos, 'cuz, 'coz, b/c, bc, bcos, bcoz, bcs, bcz, bcus
- (logic) ∵
Etymology
From Middle English bi cause, from bi (“by”) + cause, modelled on Old French par cause.
Pronunciation
Conjunction
because
- By or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that.
- I hid myself because I was afraid.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
- I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.
- 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
- In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.
- 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
- “Perhaps it is because I have been excommunicated. It's absurd, but I feel like the Jackdaw of Rheims.” ¶ She winced and bowed her head. Each time that he spoke flippantly of the Church he caused her pain.
- As is known, inferred, or determined from the fact that.
- It must be broken, because I pressed the button and nothing happened.
- I don't think he is a nice person, because he yells at people for no reason.
- (obsolete) So that, in order that.
- 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: , 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 3, member 2:
- Simon […] set the house on fire where he was born, because nobody should point at it.
Synonyms
- (for the reason that): therefore, since, for, for that, on account of (southern slang), forthy, for sake, forwhy (obsolete), as, inasmuch as, sith (obsolete), ∵ (mathematics symbol); see also Thesaurus:because
Derived terms
Translations
by or for the cause that; on this account that; for the reason that
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as known because; as inferred because; as determined because
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Adverb
because (not comparable)
- On account, for sake .
- My life is ruined because of you!
- (obsolete) For the reason .
- 1611, The Holy Bible, (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Genesis 2:3:
- And God blessed the seuenth day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his worke, which God created and made.
Derived terms
Translations
on account (of) — see because of
for the reason (that) — see because
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked: "on account"
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Interjection
because
- Used alone to refuse to provide a full answer a question begun with "why", usually taken as an anapodoton of the elided full phrase "Because I said so".
Translations
word used in place of an answer to "why"
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Preposition
because
- (colloquial, Internet slang) On account of, because of.
- He rejected me because revenge, I guess.
- It doesn't work because reasons.
- 2013 November 19, Megan Garber, “English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet”, in The Atlantic:
- You probably know it better, however, as explanation by way of Internet—explanation that maximizes efficiency and irony in equal measure. I'm late because YouTube. You're reading this because procrastination. As the language writer Stan Carey delightfully sums it up: “‘Because’ has become a preposition, because grammar.”
Derived terms
References
- Bingham, Caleb (1808) “Improprieties in Pronunciation, common among the people of New-England”, in The Child's Companion; Being a Conciſe Spelling-book , 12th edition, Boston: Manning & Loring, →OCLC, page 74.
- Glossa, volume 17 (1997), page 175: cf. Emonds 1976:175 on the analysis of Modern English because as a preposition introducing a clause
French
Etymology
Borrowed from English because.
Pronunciation
Preposition
because
- (colloquial) Synonym of à cause de (“because of”)
- La fenêtre était ouverte because la chaleur aoûtienne, si moite. ― The window was open because of the muggy August heat.