Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Peter Mark Roget

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].