Wiktionary

case

See also: Appendix:Variations of "case"

English

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /keɪs/
    • Audio (UK):(file)
    • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪs
  • Hyphenation: case

Etymology 1

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    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”).

    Noun

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    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.
      • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
        Ne wist he how to turne, nor to what place: / Was never wretched man in such a wofull cace.
      • 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.
      • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
        We drove back to the office with some concern on my part at the prospect of so large a case. Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke.
      • 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.
    6. (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.
    8. (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]
    9. (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.
    11. (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.
    12. (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.
    13. (archaic) A love affair.
      • 1867, The Young Ladies' Journal, page 467:
        Poor fellow, just as I thought! It's a case with him, anybody can see that. He is thinking about Christine, for a certainty. Lovers always take to stargazing and moonlight dreaming — it's part of their complaint.
      • 1876, The New York Drama, volumes 1-2, page 1:
        I thought it only an amourette when you told me. It was a fire — a conflagration; subdue it. I saw it was a case, and I advised you to try — dissipation.
    Usage notes
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    • In medicine, in precise and respectful usage, a case is not a patient and a patient is not a case, whereas a patient has a case. In loose usage, however, the words are often treated synonymously.
    Synonyms
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    Hyponyms
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    Derived terms
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    Descendants
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    • → Swedish: case n
    Translations
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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Verb

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

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

    See also

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    References

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    • (love affair): John Camden Hotten (1873), The Slang Dictionary
    •   case on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

    Etymology 2

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      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.

      Noun

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      case (plural cases)

      2. A box that contains or can contain a number of identical items of manufacture.
      3. A box, sheath, or covering generally.
        a case for spectacles; the case of a watch
      4. A piece of luggage that can be used to transport an apparatus such as a sewing machine.
      5. An enclosing frame or casing.
        a door case; a window case
      6. A suitcase.
      7. A piece of furniture, constructed partially of transparent glass or plastic, within which items can be displayed.
      8. The outer covering or framework of a piece of apparatus such as a computer.
      9. (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).
      10. (typography, by extension) The nature of a piece of alphabetic type, whether a “capital” (upper case) or “small” (lower case) letter.
      11. (poker slang) Four of a kind.
      12. (US) A unit of liquid measure used to measure sales in the beverage industry, equivalent to 192 fluid ounces.
      13. (mining) A small fissure which admits water into the workings.[1]
      14. A thin layer of harder metal on the surface of an object whose deeper metal is allowed to remain soft.
      15. A cardboard box that holds (usually 24) beer bottles or cans.
        Synonym: carton
        a single case of Bud Light
      16. (UK, slang, obsolete) A counterfeit crown (five-shilling coin).
        • 1859, Snowden's magistrates assistant, page 90:
          The price of a case (five shillings piece bad) from the smasher is about one shilling; an alderman (two and sixpence) about sixpence; a peg (shilling) about threepence; a downer or sprat (sixpence) about twopence.
      Derived terms
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      Terms derived from case (noun, etymology 2)
      Translations
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      The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
      Translations to be checked

      Adjective

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      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.
      References
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      Verb

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      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.
      Derived terms
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      Translations
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      References

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      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.

      Further reading

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      Anagrams

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      Afar

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      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): /ħaˈse/ [ħʌˈsɛ]
      • Hyphenation: ca‧se

      Verb

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      casé (frequentative casamcasé, passive cassiimé)

      1. (transitive) wave at
      2. (transitive) strike, hit

      Conjugation

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          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 caséliyoh
      caséyyoh      		 casélitoh
      caséttoh      		 caséleh caséleh casélinoh
      casénnoh      		 casélitoonuh
      caséttoonuh      		 caséloonuh
      N-affirmative caséliyo
      caséyyo      		 casélito
      casétto      		 caséle caséle casélino
      casénno      		 caséliton
      casétton      		 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
      past
      conditional       		affirmative casinniyóy casinnitóy casinnáy casinnáy casinninóy casinnitoonúy casinnoonúy
      negative casé wanniyóy casé wannitóy casé wannáy casé wannáy casé wanninóy casé wannitoonúy casé wanninoonúy
      present
      conditional 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
      present
      conditional 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

      References

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      • E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “case”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
      • Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015), L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎[2], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis), page 263

      Asturian

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      Verb

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      case

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

      Chinese

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      Alternative forms

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      Etymology

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      From English case.

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      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)

      French

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      Etymology

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      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.

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      case f (plural cases)

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

      Derived terms

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      Descendants

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      • Saint Dominican Creole French: caze
        • Haitian Creole: kay

      Further reading

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      Anagrams

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      Galician

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      Etymology 1

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

      Alternative forms

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      Pronunciation

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      Adverb

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      case

      1. almost

      References

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      Etymology 2

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      Verb

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      case

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

      Italian

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      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): /ˈka.ze/, (traditional) /ˈka.se/
      • Rhymes: -aze, (traditional) -ase
      • Hyphenation: cà‧se

      Noun

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      case f

      1. plural of casa

      Anagrams

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      Lower Sorbian

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      Pronunciation

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      • IPA(key): /ˈt͡sa.sɛ/
      • Rhymes: -asɛ
      • Syllabification: ca‧se

      Noun

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      case

      1. nominative/accusative plural of cas

      Middle Dutch

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      Etymology

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

      Noun

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      câse m or n

      1. cheese

      Inflection

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      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

      Alternative forms

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      Descendants

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      Further reading

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      Middle English

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      Alternative forms

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      Etymology

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        From Old Northern French casse, from Latin capsa.

        Pronunciation

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        • IPA(key): /ˈkaːs(ə)/, /ˈkas(ə)/

        Noun

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        case (plural cases)

        1. box, chest, casket, case

        Descendants

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        References

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        Norwegian Bokmål

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        Etymology

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        English case, from Latin cāsus. Doublet of kasus.

        Pronunciation

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        • IPA(key): /kɛɪ̯s/, /kæɪ̯s/

        Noun

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        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

        References

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        Norwegian Nynorsk

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        Etymology

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        English case, from Latin cāsus. Doublet of kasus.

        Pronunciation

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        • IPA(key): /kɛɪ̯s/, /kæɪ̯s/

        Noun

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        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

        References

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        Old French

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        Noun

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

        1. (grammar) case

        Portuguese

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        Portuguese Wikipedia has an article on:
        Wikipedia pt

        Etymology 1

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        Etymology tree
        Proto-Indo-European *kap-
        Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
        Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti
        Proto-Italic *kapjō
        Proto-Italic *kapsos
        Latin capsa
        Old Northern French cassebor.
        Middle English case
        English caseubor.
        Portuguese case

          Unadapted borrowing from English case. Doublet of caixa.

          Pronunciation

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          Noun

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          case m or f same meaning (plural cases)

          1. (Brazil) a phone case
            Synonym: capinha

          Etymology 2

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          Etymology tree
          Proto-Indo-European *ḱad-
          Proto-Indo-European *-eti
          Proto-Indo-European *ḱádeti
          Proto-Italic *kadō
          Latin cadō
          Proto-Indo-European *-tus
          Proto-Italic *-tus
          Latin -tus
          Latin cassus
          Latin cāsus
          Old French casbor.
          Middle English cas
          English case
          English case studyder.
          Portuguese case

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

            Pronunciation

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            Noun

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            case m (plural cases)

            2. (Brazil, marketing) a marketing case study

            Etymology 3

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            See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

            Pronunciation

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            Verb

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            case

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

            Further reading

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            Romanian

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            Noun

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            case

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

            Spanish

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            Pronunciation

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            • IPA(key): /ˈkase/ [ˈka.se]
            • Rhymes: -ase
            • Syllabification: ca‧se

            Verb

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            case

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

            Swedish

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            Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:
            Wikipedia sv

            Etymology

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

            Pronunciation

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            Noun

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            case n

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

            Declension

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            Declension of case
            nominative genitive
            singular indefinite case cases
            definite caset casets
            plural indefinite case cases
            definite casen casens

            Derived terms

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            References

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            • “case”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)

            Venetan

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            Noun

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            case

            1. plural of casa
            Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=case&oldid=90354833"