Causative
/ˈkɔː.zə.tɪv/noun
Serving or causing an action or state; in grammar, expressing that one subject causes another to perform an action.
Did you know?Causative comes from Latin causativus, built from causa, a word that could mean a legal case or reason—so English inherited a term where language itself acts like a chain of causation.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*keuh₂-
“to set in motion, impel, or stir up”
Latin
Latin
causa
“a reason, motive, legal case, or cause”
Late Latin
Latin
causativus
“causing, having the power to cause”
Middle English
English
causatif
“causing or relating to a cause”
Modern English
English
causative
“serving to cause; in grammar, expressing that one thing causes another action”