Wiktionary

occasion

See also: Occasion

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English occasioun, from Middle French occasion, from Old French occasiun, from Latin occasiōnem, noun of action from perfect passive participle occasus, from verb occido, from prefix ob- (“down", "away”) + verb cado (“fall”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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occasion (countable and uncountable, plural occasions)

  1. A favorable opportunity; a convenient or timely chance. [from 14th c.]
    At this point, she seized the occasion to make her own observation.
  2. The time when something happens.
    On this occasion, I'm going to decline your offer, but next time I might agree.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 203:
      And Vickers launched forth in a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with supreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them.
  3. An occurrence or state of affairs which causes some event or reaction; a motive or reason. [from 14th c.]
    I had no occasion to feel offended, however.
  4. Something which causes something else; a cause. [from 14th c.]
  5. (obsolete) An occurrence or incident. [14th–18th c.]
  6. A particular happening; an instance or time when something occurred. [from 15th c.]
    I could think of two separate occasions when she had deliberately lied to me.
    a momentous occasion in the history of South Africa
  7. Need; requirement, necessity. [from 16th c.]
    I have no occasion for firearms.
  8. A special event or function. [from 19th c.]
    Having people round for dinner was always quite an occasion at our house.
  9. A reason or excuse; a motive; a persuasion.

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
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Verb

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occasion (third-person singular simple present occasions, present participle occasioning, simple past and past participle occasioned)

  1. (transitive) To cause; to produce; to induce
    It is seen that the mental changes are occasioned by a change of polarity.
    • 1831, Thomas Carlyle, “Reminiscences”, in Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 9:
      To the Author's private circle the appearance of this singular Work on Clothes must have occasioned little less surprise than it has to the rest of the world.
    • 1946 November and December, “Additional London-Dartford Services”, in Railway Magazine, page 386:
      […] although overcrowding on the trains running via London Bridge has occasioned considerable discomfort to regular travellers, it was noticed that the alternative route was not extensively patronised, and that the trains were seldom more than half-filled.
    • 1951 July, “New Pennine Tunnel”, in Railway Magazine, page 432:
      The new tunnel has been associated with, but not actually occasioned by, the electrification of the Manchester-Sheffield-Wath lines of the former L.N.E.R., initiated before the war.

Translations

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French

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin occāsiōnem (accusative of occāsiō). Compare the inherited Old French ochoison, achaison (the latter being influenced by Latin accūsātiō).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ɔ.ka.zjɔ̃/
  • Audio; “une occasion”:(file)

Noun

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occasion f (plural occasions)

  1. occasion, opportunity
  2. cause
  3. bargain, good deal
  4. secondhand or used item

Derived terms

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Further reading

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