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Added 9 October 2026

sake

/ˈseɪ̯k/ noun

In Latin: gratias, grātia Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about sake at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A reason for wanting something done.
for your sake
Japanese alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice; usually served hot.
The purpose of achieving or obtaining.
for the sake of argument

Origin

From Middle English sake (“sake, cause”), from Old English sacu (“cause, lawsuit, legal action, complaint, issue, dispute”), from Proto-West Germanic *saku, from Proto-Germanic *sakō (“affair, thing, charge, accusation, matter”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- (“to investigate”). Akin to West Frisian saak (“cause; business”), Low German Saak, Dutch zaak (“matter; cause; business”), German Sache (“thing; matter; cause; legal cause”), Danish sag, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish sak, Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌺𐌾𐍉 (sakjō, “dispute, argument”), Old English sōcn (“inquiry, prosecution”), Old English sēcan (“to seek”). More at soke, soken, seek.

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

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