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On occasion

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On Occasion
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oc⋅ca⋅sion

  [uh-key-zhuhn]
Use On occasion in a Sentence
–noun
1. a particular time, esp. as marked by certain circumstances or occurrences: They met on three occasions.
2. a special or important time, event, ceremony, celebration, etc.: His birthday will be quite an occasion.
3. a convenient or favorable time, opportunity, or juncture: This slack period would be a good occasion to take inventory.
4. the immediate or incidental cause or reason for some action or result: What is the occasion for this uproar?
5. (in the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead) the coincidence of the eternal objects forming a specific point-event.
6. occasions, Obsolete.
a. needs or necessities.
b. necessary business matters: to go about one's lawful occasions.
–verb (used with object)
7. to give occasion or cause for; bring about.
—Idiom
8. on occasion, now and then; from time to time; occasionally: She visits New York on occasion.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME occasioun < OF occasion < L occāsiōn- (s. of occāsiō), equiv. to oc- oc- + cās(us) (ptp. of cadere to fall, befall) + -iōn- -ion

Synonyms:
3. chance, opening. 4. motive, inducement, influence. See cause. 7. motivate, originate, produce, create.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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On Occasion
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oc·ca·sion   (ə-kā'zhən)   
n.  

    1. An event or happening; an incident.

    2. The time at which an event occurs.

  2. A significant event.

  3. A favorable or appropriate time or juncture; an opportunity. See Synonyms at opportunity.

  4. Something that brings on or precipitates an action, condition, or event, especially the immediate cause. See Synonyms at cause.

  5. Something that provides a reason or justification; a ground.

  6. A need created by a particular circumstance: "He must buy what he has little occasion for" (Laurence Sterne).

  7. A large or important social gathering.

  8. occasions Archaic Personal requirements or necessities.

tr.v.   oc·ca·sioned, oc·ca·sion·ing, oc·ca·sions
To provide occasion for; cause: "The year's annual reports occasion an especially revealing glimpse of how corporations lend . . . embellishment to the stark numbers of the comptroller's office" (Mark Muro).

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin occāsiō, occāsiōn-, from occāsus, past participle of occidere, to fall : ob-, down; see ob- + cadere, to fall; see kad- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

occasion  (n.)
1382, from O.Fr. occasion, from L. occasionem (nom. occasio) "opportunity, appropriate time," from occasum, pp. of occidere "fall down, go down," from ob "down, away" + cadere "to fall" (see case (1)). The notion is of a "falling together," or juncture, of circumstances. The verb is first attested 1530. Occasional (1631) was originally "happening on some particular occasion;" sense of "happening as occasion presents itself, without regularity" is from 1630.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

on occasion

From time to time, now and then, as in Nell has been known to eat meat on occasion. This usage, first in the form of upon occasion, replaced by occasion about 1600.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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