different between propagate vs cause

English

Etymology

Latin propagatus

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p??p???e?t/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?p??p???e?t/

Verb

propagate (third-person singular simple present propagates, present participle propagating, simple past and past participle propagated)

1. (transitive, of animals or plants) To cause to continue or multiply by generation, or successive production
   • June 1879, William Keith Brooks, Popular Science Monthly Volume 15 - The Condition of Women from a Zoological Point of View I

     A marked bud-variation is of very rare occurrence, but in many cases the tendency of plants raised from seeds to differ from the parents is so great that choice varieties are propagated entirely by buds. It is almost hopeless to attempt to propagate a choice variety of grape or strawberry by seeds, as the individuals raised in this way seldom have the valuable qualities of their parents, and, although they may have new qualities of equal or greater value, the chances are of course greatly against this, since the possibility of undesirable variation is much greater than the chance of a desirable sport.

2. (transitive) To cause to spread to extend; to impel or continue forward in space

3. (transitive) To spread from person to person; to extend the knowledge of; to originate and spread; to carry from place to place; to disseminate
   • 1938, Hilaire Belloc, The Great Heresies Chapter 4

     There began to appear from the East, cropping up now here, now there, but in general along lines of advance towards the West, individuals or small communities who proposed and propagated a new and, as they called it, a purified form of religion.

   • 1913, J. B. Bury, A History of Freedom of Thought Chapter 3

     The works of the freethinker Averroes (twelfth century) which were based on Aristotle's philosophy, propagated a small wave of rationalism in Christian countries.
4. (obsolete, transitive) To multiply; to increase.
   • 1623, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet Act 1, Scene 1

     Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast, / Which thou wilt propagate.

5. (transitive) To generate; to produce.
   • 1847, Thomas De Quincey, Conversation (published in Tait's Edinburgh Magazine)

     Motion propagated motion, and life threw off life.

6. (biology, intransitive) To produce young; to be produced or multiplied by generation, or by new shoots or plants
   • 1868, Charles Darwin, The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication Chapter XXVIII

     As pigeons propagate so rapidly, I suppose that a thousand or fifteen hundred birds would have to be annually killed by mere chance.

7. (intransitive, computing) To take effect on all relevant devices in a network.

   It takes 24 hours for password changes to propagate throughout the system.

8. (transitive, computing) To cause to take effect on all relevant devices in a network.

   The server propagates the password file at midnight each day.

Derived terms

• propagation
• propagator

Translations

References

• propagate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Ido

Verb

propagate

1. adverbial present passive participle of propagar

Italian

Verb

propagate

1. second-person plural present indicative of propagare
2. second-person plural imperative of propagare
3. feminine plural of propagato

Anagrams

• prepagato

Latin

Verb

pr?p?g?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of pr?p?g?

English

Etymology

From Middle English cause, borrowed from Old French cause (“a cause, a thing”), from Latin causa (“reason, sake, cause”), in Middle English also "a thing". Origin uncertain. See accuse, excuse, recuse, ruse. Displaced native Middle English sake (“cause, reason”) (from Old English sacu (“cause”)), Middle English andweorc, andwork (“matter, cause”) (from Old English andweorc (“matter, thing, cause”)).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: kôz, IPA^(key): /k??z/, [k?o?z?]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /k?z/, [k???z?]
• Rhymes: -??z
• Homophones: caws, 'cause; cores (non-rhotic dialects)

Noun

cause (countable and uncountable, plural causes)

1. (countable, often with of, typically of adverse results) The source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:cause

2. (uncountable, especially with for and a bare noun) Sufficient reason for a state, as of emotion.

   Synonyms: grounds, justification

3. (countable) A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends.
   • 1796, Edmund Burke, a letter to a noble lord

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

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:goal

4. (obsolete) Sake; interest; advantage.

   • I did it not for his cause.

5. (countable, obsolete) Any subject of discussion or debate; a matter; an affair.
6. (countable, law) 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.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• effect

Verb

cause (third-person singular simple present causes, present participle causing, simple past and past participle caused)

1. (transitive) To set off an event or action.

   • Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. […] She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.
2. (ditransitive) To actively produce as a result, by means of force or authority.

   • I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days.
3. To assign or show cause; to give a reason; to make excuse.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)

Derived terms

• causation
• causer

Translations

Further reading

• cause at OneLook Dictionary Search
• cause in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• cause in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• -sauce, sauce

Asturian

Verb

cause

1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive of causar

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /koz/
• Homophones: causent, causes

Etymology 1

From Old French cause, borrowed from Classical Latin causa. Compare chose, an inherited doublet.

Noun

cause f (plural causes)

1. cause

   Antonym: conséquence

2. (law) case (a legal proceeding)

Derived terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

cause

1. inflection of causer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “cause” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• sauce, sceau

Italian

Noun

cause f pl

1. plural of causa

Middle English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French cause.

Noun

cause (plural causes)

1. cause
   • 14^th Century, Chaucer, General Prologue

     He knew the cause of everich maladye

     He knew the cause of every illness

Descendants

• English: cause

Norman

Etymology

From Old French cause, borrowed from Latin causa.

Noun

cause f (plural causes)

1. (Jersey, law) case

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin causa, whence the inherited chose.

Noun

cause f (oblique plural causes, nominative singular cause, nominative plural causes)

1. cause

Descendants

• Middle English: cause
  • English: cause
• Middle French: cause
  • French: cause
• Norman: cause

Portuguese

Verb

cause

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of causar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of causar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of causar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of causar

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?kause/, [?kau?.se]

Verb

cause

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of causar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of causar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of causar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of causar.