occasion definition

English occasion definition

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French occasion, from Old French occasiun, from Latin occasiōnem, noun of action from perfect passive participle occasus, from verb occido, from prefix ob- (“down", "away”) + verb cado (“fall”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈkeɪʒən/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʒən
• Hyphenation: oc‧ca‧sion

Noun

occasion (countable and uncountable, plural occasions)

1. A favorable opportunity; a convenient or timely chance. [from 14th c.]

   At this point, she seized the occasion to make her own observation.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Romans 7:11:

     For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

   • 1690, Edmund Waller, The Maids Tragedy Alter'd

     I'll take the occasion which he gives to bring / Him to his death.

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, chapter I, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar […], OCLC 928184292, book IV:

     That our work, therefore, might be in no danger of being likened to the labours of these historians, we have taken every occasion of interspersing through the whole sundry similes, descriptions, and other kind of poetical embellishments.

2. The time when something happens.
   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 4293071:

     And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them.

   on this occasion, I'm going to decline your offer, but next time I might agree.

3. An occurrence or state of affairs which causes some event or reaction; a motive or reason. [from 14th c.]

   I had no occasion to feel offended, however.

4. Something which causes something else; a cause. [from 14th c.]
   • 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, in Kupperman 1988, p. 130:

     it were too vile to say, and scarce to be beleeved, what we endured: but the occasion was our owne, for want of providence, industrie and government [...].

5. (obsolete) An occurrence or incident. [14th-18th c.]
6. A particular happening; an instance or time when something occurred. [from 15th c.]

   I could think of two separate occasions when she had deliberately lied to me.

   a momentous occasion in the history of South Africa

   • 2013 April 9, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff.”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     In the last two decades, North Korea has on various occasions conducted highly provocative missile and nuclear tests and promised to turn Seoul into a sea of fire.

7. Need; requirement, necessity. [from 16th c.]
   • 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 222716698:

     I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town. I was completely mystified at such an unusual proceeding.

   I have no occasion for firearms.

   • 1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], OCLC 1203220866:

     after we have served ourselves and our own occasions

   • 1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], OCLC 946162345:

     when my occasions took me into France

8. A special event or function. [from 19th c.]

   Having people round for dinner was always quite an occasion at our house.

9. A reason or excuse; a motive; a persuasion.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Qveene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for VVilliam Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938, book IV, canto X, stanza 13:

     Whose manner was, all passengers to stay, / And entertaine with her occasions sly.

Derived terms

• occasional
• on occasion
• rise to the occasion

Translations

Verb

occasion (third-person singular simple present occasions, present participle occasioning, simple past and past participle occasioned)

1. (transitive) To cause; to produce; to induce

   it is seen that the mental changes are occasioned by a change of polarity

Translations

French occasion definition

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin occāsiōnem (accusative of occāsiō). Compare the inherited Old French ochoison, achaison (the latter being influenced by Latin accūsātiō).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔ.ka.zjɔ̃/

• audio (une occasion)

  (file)

Noun

occasion f (plural occasions)

1. occasion, opportunity
2. cause
3. bargain, good deal
4. secondhand or used item

Derived terms

Further reading

• “occasion”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.