casus belli

[key-suhs bel-ahy, bel-ee; Lat. kah-soos bel-lee] Origin

ca·sus bel·li

[key-suhs bel-ahy, bel-ee; Lat. kah-soos bel-lee]
noun, plural ca·sus bel·li [key-suhs bel-ahy, bel-ee; Lat. kah-soos bel-lee] .
an event or political occurrence that brings about a declaration of war.

Origin:
1840–50; < Neo-Latin: literally, occurrence of war
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To casus belli

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Casus belli is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Collins
World English Dictionary
casus belli (ˈkɑːsʊs ˈbɛliː)
 
n , pl casus belli
1.  an event or act used to justify a war
2.  the immediate cause of a quarrel
 
[literally: occasion of war]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

casus belli
1849, from L. casus "case" + belli, gen. of bellum "war." An act justifying war.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT