case - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English cas, from Old French cas (“an event”), from Latin cāsus (“a falling, a fall; accident, event, occurrence; occasion, opportunity; noun case”), perfect passive participle of cadō (“to fall, to drop”).

case (plural cases)

  1. An actual event, situation, or fact.
    For a change, in this case, he was telling the truth.
    It is not the case that every unfamiliar phrase is an idiom.
    In case of fire, break glass. [sign on fire extinguisher holder in public space]
    Conditioning would require exposition to any sentence before being uttered, which isn’t the case.
    • 2013 July 20, “The attack of the MOOCs”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
      Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete.
  2. (now rare) A given condition or state.
    • 1586, William Warner, “The Fourth Booke. Chapter XXXVI.”, in Albions England. Or Historicall Map of the Same Island: […], London: […] George Robinson [and R. Ward] for Thomas Cadman, […], →OCLC, page 174:
      Thus vvhilſt he hopt he hild her leaſt, ſo altereth the cace / VVith ſuch as ſhe, Ah ſuch it is to build on ſuch a face.
    • 1726, Nathan Bailey, John Worlidge, Dictionarium Rusticum, Urbanicum & Botanicum:
      Mares which are over-fat, hold with much difficulty; whereas those that are but in good case and plump, conceive with the greatest readiness and ease.
  3. A specific matter or piece of work, specifically defined within a profession, usually in respect of a specific person and/or event; the set of tasks involved in addressing one such matter.
    It was one of the detective's easiest cases.
    Social workers should work on a maximum of forty active cases.
    The doctor told us of an interesting case he had treated that morning.
    • 1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 4, in Pulling the Strings:
      The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff. These properties were known to have belonged to a toddy drawer. He had disappeared.
  4. (academia) An instance or event as a topic of study.
    The teaching consists of theory lessons and case studies.
  5. (law) A legal proceeding; a lawsuit or prosecution.
    • 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [_i.e._, Emma Orczy], “The Tremarn Case”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
      “Two or three months more went by ; the public were eagerly awaiting the arrival of this semi-exotic claimant to an English peerage, and sensations, surpassing those of the Tichbourne case, were looked forward to with palpitating interest. […] ”
    • 2025 November 20, Simmone Shah, “Ukraine to Claim $44bn in Climate Damages From Russia. Why War Is So Bad For Emissions”, in TIME‎[1]:
      As the conflict has dragged on, prosecutors in Ukraine are now pursuing 247 cases of environmental war crimes against Russia in Ukrainian courts and the International Criminal Court, according to reporting published in April by the New York Times.
  6. (grammar) A specific inflection of a word (particularly a noun, pronoun, or adjective) depending on its function in the sentence.
    The accusative case most commonly indicates a direct object.
    Latin has six cases, and remnants of a seventh.
    • 1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 6, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 292:
      Now, the Subject of either an indicative or a subjunctive Clause is always assigned Nominative case, as we see from:
      (16) (a) I know [that they/*them/*their leave for Hawaii tomorrow]
      (16) (b) I demand [that they/*them/*their leave for Hawaii tomorrow]
      By contrast, the Subject of an infinitive Clause is assigned Objective case, as we see from:
      (17) I want [them/*they/*their to leave for Hawaii tomorrow]
      And the Subject of a gerund Clause is assigned either Objective or Genitive case: cf.
      (18) I don't like the idea of [them/their/*they leaving for Hawaii tomorrow]
  7. (grammar, uncountable) Grammatical cases and their meanings taken either as a topic in general or within a specific language.
    Jane has been studying case in Caucasian languages.
    Latin is a language that employs case.
  8. (medicine) An instance of a specific condition or set of symptoms.
    Antonym: noncase
    Hyponym: index case
    Coordinate term: patient
    There were another five cases reported overnight.
    • 2013, Gillian Russell, Delia Graff Fara, Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Language, page 144:
      We turn next to the puzzle of borderlineness: If Harry is intermediate between clear cases and clear noncases of baldness, “Is Harry bald?” seems to have no good, direct, answer.
  9. (programming) A section of code representing one of the actions of a conditional switch.
    • 2004, Rick Miller, C++ for Artists:
      Place a break statement at the end of every case to prevent case fall-through.
    • 2011, Stephen Prata, C++ Primer Plus, page 275:
      Execution does not automatically stop at the next case.
  10. (archaic) A love affair.

actual event, situation, or fact

piece of work

academia: instance or event as a topic of study

law: lawsuit

medicine: instance of a specific condition or set of symptoms

programming: section of code

case (third-person singular simple present cases, present participle casing, simple past and past participle cased)

  1. (obsolete, intransitive) To propose hypothetical cases.

From Middle English case, from Old Northern French casse (compare Old French chasse (“box, chest, case”)), from Latin capsa (“box, bookcase”), from capiō (“to take, seize, hold”). Doublet of cash, chase, and chasse. Compare Spanish caja, Asturian caxa, Portuguese caixa.

case (plural cases)

  1. A box that contains or can contain a number of identical items of manufacture.
  2. A box, sheath, or covering generally.
    a case for spectacles; the case of a watch
  3. A piece of luggage that can be used to transport an apparatus such as a sewing machine.
  4. An enclosing frame or casing.
    a door case; a window case
  5. A suitcase.
  6. A piece of furniture, constructed partially of transparent glass or plastic, within which items can be displayed.
  7. The outer covering or framework of a piece of apparatus such as a computer.
  8. (printing, historical) A shallow tray divided into compartments or "boxes" for holding type, traditionally arranged in sets of two, the "upper case" (containing capitals, small capitals, accented) and "lower case" (small letters, figures, punctuation marks, quadrats, and spaces).
  9. (typography, by extension) The nature of a piece of alphabetic type, whether a “capital” (upper case) or “small” (lower case) letter.
  10. (poker slang) Four of a kind.
  11. (US) A unit of liquid measure used to measure sales in the beverage industry, equivalent to 192 fluid ounces.
  12. (mining) A small fissure which admits water into the workings.[1]
  13. A thin layer of harder metal on the surface of an object whose deeper metal is allowed to remain soft.
  14. A cardboard box that holds (usually 24) beer bottles or cans.
    Synonym: carton
  15. (UK, slang, obsolete) A counterfeit crown (five-shilling coin).

box containing a number of identical items of manufacture

sheath, covering

piece of luggage that can be used to transport an apparatus

suitcase

outer covering or framework of a piece of apparatus

case (not comparable)

  1. (poker slang) The last remaining card of a particular rank.
    He drew the case eight!
    • 2006, David Apostolico, Lessons from the Professional Poker Tour, page 21:
      If he did have a bigger ace, I still had at least six outs — the case ace, two nines, and three tens. I could also have more outs if he held anything less than A-K.

case (third-person singular simple present cases, present participle casing, simple past and past participle cased)

  1. (transitive) To place (an item or items of manufacture) into a box, as in preparation for shipment.
  2. (transitive) To cover or protect with, or as if with, a case; to enclose.
    • 1855–1858, William H[ickling] Prescott, History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain, volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson, and Company, →OCLC:
      The man who, cased in steel, had passed whole days and nights in the saddle.
  3. (transitive, informal) To survey (a building or other location) surreptitiously, as in preparation for a robbery.
    • 1977, Michael Innes, The Gay Phoenix, →ISBN, page 116:
      You are in the grounds of Brockholes Abbey, a house into which a great deal of valuable property has just been moved. And your job is to case the joint for a break in.
    • 2014, Amy Goodman, From COINTELPRO to Snowden, the FBI Burglars Speak Out After 43 Years of Silence (Part 2), Democracy Now!, January 8, 2014, 0:49 to 0:57:
      Bonnie worked as a daycare director. She helped case the FBI office by posing as a college student interested in becoming an FBI agent.

to place into a box

to survey surreptitiously

  1. ^ Edward H[enry] Knight (1877), “Case”, in Knight’s American Mechanical Dictionary. […], volumes I (A–GAS), New York, N.Y.: Hurd and Houghton […], →OCLC.

casé (frequentative casamcasé, passive cassiimé)

  1. (transitive) wave at
  2. (transitive) strike, hit
Conjugation of case (type II verb)
1st singular 2nd singular 3rd singular 1st plural 2nd plural 3rd plural
m f
perfective V-affirmative caséh castéh caséh castéh casnéh casteeníh caseeníh
N-affirmative casé casté casé casté casné castén casén
negative mácasinniyo mácasinnito mácasinna mácasinna mácasinnino mácasinniton mácasinnon
imperfective V-affirmative casáh castáh casáh castáh casnáh castaanáh casaanáh
N-affirmative casá castá casá castá casná castán casán
negative mácasa mácasta mácasa mácasta mácasna mácastan mácasan
prospective V-affirmative caséliyohcaséyyoh casélitohcaséttoh caséleh caséleh casélinohcasénnoh casélitoonuhcaséttoonuh caséloonuh
N-affirmative caséliyocaséyyo casélitocasétto caséle caséle casélinocasénno casélitoncasétton casélon
conjunctive I V-affirmative cásuh cástuh cásuh cástuh cásuh castóonuh casóonuh
N-affirmative cásu cástu cásu cástu cásu castón casón
negative casé wáyuh casé wáytuh casé wáyuh casé wáytuh casé wáynuh casé waytóonuh casé wóonuh
conjunctive II V-affirmative casánkeh castánkeh casánkeh castánkeh casnánkeh castaanánkeh casaanánkeh
N-affirmative casánke castánke casánke castánke casnánke castaanánke casaanánke
negative casé wáankeh casé waytánkeh casé wáankeh casé waytánkeh casé waynánkeh casé waytaanánkeh casé wáankeh
jussive affirmative cásay cástay cásay cástay cásnay castóonay casóonay
negative casé wáay casé wáytay casé wáay casé wáytay casé wáynay casé waytóonay casé wóonay
pastconditional affirmative casinniyóy casinnitóy casinnáy casinnáy casinninóy casinnitoonúy casinnoonúy
negative casé wanniyóy casé wannitóy casé wannáy casé wannáy casé wanninóy casé wannitoonúy casé wanninoonúy
presentconditional I affirmative casék casték casék casték casnék casteeník caseeník
negative casé wéek casé wayték casé wéek casé wayték casé waynék casé wayteeník casé weeník
singular plural singular plural
consultative affirmative casóo casnóo imperative affirmative cás cása
negative macasóo macasnóo negative mácasin mácasina
-h converb -i form -k converb -in(n)uh converb -innuk converb infinitive indefinite participle
V-focus N-focus
cásah cási cásak casínnuh casínnuk casíyya casináanih casináan
Compound tenses dependent verb sequential perfective + -m simultaneous imperfective + -m past perfect affirmative perfective + perfective of én or sugé present perfect affirmative perfective + imperfective of én future perfect affirmative perfective + prospective of sugé past progressive -k converb + imperfective of én or sugé present progressive affirmative imperfect + imperfective of én future progressive -k converb + prospective of sugé immediate future affirmative conjunctive I + imperfective of wée imperfect potential I affirmative conjunctive I + imperfective of takké imperfect potential II affirmative imperfective + -m + takké negative **casé + imperfective of wée + -m + takké perfect potential affirmative perfective + -m + takké negative **casé + perfective of wée + -m + takké presentconditional II affirmative imperfective + object pronoun + tekkék negative **casé + perfective of wée + object pronoun + tekkék perfect conditional affirmative perfective + imperfective of sugé + -k negative perfective + sugé + imperfective of wée -k irrealis **casé + perfective of xaaxé or raaré

case

  1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive of casar

From English case.

case (Hong Kong Cantonese)

  1. case (container; box) (Classifier: 個／个 c)
  2. case (situation) (Classifier: 個／个 c)
  3. case (piece of work) (Classifier: 個／个 c)
  4. case (piece of work) (when associated with a file detailing the case, e.g. applications or reports) (Classifier: 隻／只 c)
  5. the person or client associated with such case (Classifier: 隻／只 c)
  6. case (legal proceeding) (Classifier: 單／单 c; 隻／只 c)

Borrowed from Latin casa, in the sense of "hut, cabin". The other senses are a semantic loan from Spanish casa. Doublet of chez, which was inherited.

case f (plural cases)

  1. (archaic, rare or regional) hut, cabin, shack
  2. box (on form)
  3. square (on board game)

Attested since the 15th century (quasy), inherited from Latin quasi (“as if”).

case

  1. almost

case

  1. inflection of casar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

case f

  1. plural of casa

case

  1. nominative/accusative plural of cas

From Old Dutch *kāsi, from late Proto-West Germanic *kāsī, borrowed from Latin cāseus.

câse m or n

  1. cheese

Strong masculine noun

| | singular | plural | | | ----------- | ------ | ----- | | nominative | câse | câse | | accusative | câse | câse | | genitive | câes | câse | | dative | câse | câsen |

Strong neuter noun

| | singular | plural | | | ----------- | ------ | ----- | | nominative | câse | câse | | accusative | câse | câse | | genitive | câes | câse | | dative | câse | câsen |

From Old Northern French casse, from Latin capsa.

case (plural cases)

  1. box, chest, casket, case

English case, from Latin cāsus. Doublet of kasus.

case m or n (definite singular casen or caset, indefinite plural caser, definite plural casene)

  1. a case study; a case as used in a case study

English case, from Latin cāsus. Doublet of kasus.

case m or n (definite singular casen or caset, indefinite plural casar or **case, definite plural casane or casa)

  1. a case study; a case as used in a case study
    Synonyms: døme, eksempel

case oblique singular, m (oblique plural cases, nominative singular cases, nominative plural **case)

  1. (grammar) case

Proto-Indo-European *kap-

Middle English case

Portuguese case

Unadapted borrowing from English case. Doublet of caixa.

case m or f same meaning (plural cases)

  1. (Brazil) a phone case
    Synonym: capinha

Proto-Indo-European *ḱad-

Proto-Indo-European *-eti

Proto-Indo-European *ḱádeti

Proto-Indo-European *-tus

Middle English cas

English case

Portuguese case

Pseudo-anglicism, derived from case study. Doublet of caso.

case m (plural cases)

  1. (Brazil, marketing) a marketing case study

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

case

  1. inflection of casar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

case

  1. inflection of casă:
    1. plural
    2. genitive/dative singular

case

  1. inflection of casar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Borrowed from English case, from Latin cāsus. Doublet of kasus.

case n

  1. (countable) a case (instance or event as a topic of study)
    Synonym: fall

case

  1. plural of casa