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occasion

 - 4 dictionary results

oc⋅ca⋅sion

  [uh-key-zhuhn]
Use 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.
Cite This Source Link To occasion
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

occasion

see on occasion; rise to the occasion.

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