principle, element; occasioner†, prime mover, primum mobile [Lat.]; vera
causa [Lat.]; author &c (producer) 164; mainspring; agent; leaven;
groundwork, foundation &c (support) 215.
spring, fountain, well, font; fountainhead, spring head, wellhead;
fons et origo [Lat.], genesis; descent &c (paternity) 166; remote
cause; influence.
pivot, hinge, turning point, lever, crux, fulcrum; key; proximate
cause, causa causans [Lat.]; straw that breaks the camel's back.
ground; reason, reason why; why and wherefore, rationale,
occasion, derivation; final cause &c (intention) 620; les dessous des
cartes [Fr.]; undercurrents.
rudiment.
egg, germ, embryo, bud, root, radix radical, etymon, nucleus,
seed, stem, stock, stirps, trunk, tap-root, gemmule†, radicle, semen,
sperm.
nest, cradle, nursery, womb, nidus, birthplace, hotbed.
causality, causation; origination; production &c 161.
V. be the cause of &c n .; originate; give origin to, give rise, to,
give occasion to; cause, occasion, sow the seeds of, kindle, suscitate†;
bring on, bring to bring pass, bring about; produce; create &c 161; set
up, set afloat, set on foot; found, broach, institute, lay the
foundation of; lie at the root of.
procure, induce, draw down, open the door to, superinduce, evoke,
entail, operate; elicit, provoke.
conduce to &c (tend to) 176; contribute; have a hand in the pie,
have a finger in the pie; determine, decide, turn the scale; have a
common origin; derive its origin &c (effect) 154.
Adj. caused &c v.; causal, original; primary, primitive, primordial;
aboriginal; protogenal†; radical; embryonic, embryotic†; in embryo, in
ovo [Lat.]; seminal, germinal; at the bottom of; connate, having a
common origin.
Adv. because &c 155; behind the scenes.
Phr. causa latet vis est notissima [Lat.] [Ovid]; felix qui potuit
rerum cognoscere causas [Lat.] [Vergil].