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Added 8 October 2026

reason

/ˈɹiːzən/ noun

In Latin: causa Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about reason at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A cause:
The reason this tree fell is that it had rotted.
That which causes something: an efficient cause, a proximate cause.
The reason this tree fell is that it had rotted.
A motive for an action or a determination.
He made reason with his boss about taking a day off.

verb

To deduce or come to a conclusion by being rational.
To perform a process of deduction or of induction, in order to convince or to confute; to argue.
To converse; to compare opinions.

noun

A wall plate.

Origin

From Middle English resoun, reson, from Anglo-Norman raisun (Old French raison), from Latin ratiō, from ratus, past participle of reor (“reckon”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂reh₁- (“to think”), reanalysed root of *h₂er- (“to put together”). Displaced native Middle English reden (found in compounds), from Old English rǣden (“condition, stipulation, calculation, direction”), from the same Proto-Indo-European source (compare West Frisian reden (“reason”), Dutch reden (“reason”)). Doublet of ration and ratio.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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