Meaning

noun events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something

noun a justification for something existing or happening

noun a series of actions advancing a principle or tending toward a particular end

origin* From Middle English cause (also with the sense of “a thing”), borrowed from Old French cause (“a cause, a thing”), borrowed from Latin causa (“reason, sake, cause”), from Proto-Italic *kaussā, which is of unknown origin. Doublet of chose (“(law) a thing; personal property”). See accuse, excuse, recuse, ruse. Displaced native Old English intinga. * From Middle English causen, Old French causer…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0