noun.
That which constitutes a cause; the activity of causing; the character of an event as causing.
noun.
The relation of cause to effect, or of effect to cause; the law or principle that nothing can happen or come into existence without a cause. See law of causation, under causation.
noun.
In phrenology, the faculty, localized in an organ or division of the brain, to which is attributed the tracing of effects to their causes.