#155. [Assignment of cause] Attribution—N. attribution, theory, etiology, ascription, reference to, rationale; accounting for &c. v; palætiology,[1] imputation, derivation from. filiation[obs3], affiliation; pedigree &c. (paternity) 166. explanation &c. (interpretation) 522; reason why &c. (cause) 153. V. attribute to, ascribe to, impute to, refer to, lay to, point to, trace to, bring home to; put down to, set down to, blame; charge on, ground on; invest with, assign as cause, lay at, the door of, father upon; account for, derive from, point out the reason &c. 153; theorize; tell how it comes; put the saddle on the right horse. Adj. attributed &c. v.; attributable &c. v.; referable to, referrible to[obs3], due to, derivable from; owing to &c. (effect) 154; putative; ecbatic[obs3]. Adv. hence, thence, therefore, for, since, on account of, because, owing to; on that account; from this cause, from that cause; thanks to, forasmuch as; whence, propter hoc[Lat]. why? wherefore? whence? how comes it, how is it, how happens it? how does it happen? in some way, in some such way; somehow, somehow or other. Phr. that is why; hinc illae lachrymae [Lat][Horace].
[1] Whewell History of the inductive Sciences, book xviii vol. iii.p. 397 (3d edit.).
#156. [Absence of assignable cause.] Chance.[2]—N. chance, indetermination, accident, fortune, hazard, hap, haphazard, chance medley, random, luck, raccroc[obs3], casualty, contingence, adventure, hit; fate &c. (necessity) 601; equal chance; lottery; tombola[obs3]; toss up &c. 621; turn of the table, turn of the cards; hazard of the die, chapter of accidents, fickle finger of fate; cast of the dice, throw of the dice; heads or tails, flip of a coin, wheel of Fortune; sortes[obs3], sortes Virgilianae[obs3]. probability, possibility, odds; long odds, run of luck; accidentalness; main chance, odds on, favorable odds. contingency, dependence (uncertainty) 475; situation (circumstance) 8. statistics, theory of Probabilities, theory of Chances; bookmaking; assurance; speculation, gaming &c. 621. V. chance, hap, turn up; fall to one's lot; be one's -fate &c. 601; stumble on light upon; take one's chance &c. 621. Adj. casual, fortuitous, accidental, adventitious, causeless, incidental, contingent, uncaused, undetermined, indeterminate; random, statistical; possible &c. 470; unintentional &c. 621. Adv. by chance, accidentally, by accident; casually; perchance &c. (possibly) 470; for aught one knows; as good would have it, as bad would have it, as luck would have it, as ill-luck would have it, as chance would have it; as it may be, as it may chance, as it may turn up, as it may happen; as the case may be. Phr. "grasps the skirts of happy chance" [Tennyson]; "the accident of an accident" [Lord Thurlow]. "There but for the grace of God go I."
[2] The word Chance has two distinct meanings: the first, the absence of assignable cause, as above; and the second, the absence of design—for the latter see 621.
2. CONNECTION BETWEEN CAUSE AND EFFECT
#157. Power.—N. power; potency, potentiality; jiva[obs3]; puissance, might, force, energy &c. 171; dint; right hand, right arm; ascendency[obs3], sway, control; prepotency, prepollence|; almightiness, omnipotence; authority &c. 737; strength &c. 159. ability; ableness &c. adj[obs3].; competency; efficacy; efficiency, productivity, expertise (skill) 698; validity, cogency; enablement[obs3]; vantage ground; influence &c. 175. pressure; conductivity; elasticity; gravity, electricity, magnetism, galvanism, voltaic electricity, voltaism, electromagnetism; atomic power, nuclear power, thermonuclear power; fuel cell; hydraulic power, water power, hydroelectric power; solar power, solar energy, solar panels; tidal power; wind power; attraction; vis inertiae[Lat], vis mortua[Lat], vis viva [Latin]; potential energy, dynamic energy; dynamic friction, dynamic suction; live circuit, live rail, live wire. capability, capacity; quid valeant humeri quid ferre recusent [obs3][Latin]; faculty, quality, attribute, endowment, virtue, gift, property, qualification, susceptibility. V. be powerful &c. adj.; gain power &c. n. belong to, pertain to; lie in one's power, be in one's power; can, be able. give power, confer power, exercise power &c. n.; empower, enable, invest; indue[obs3], endue; endow, arm; strengthen &c. 159; compel &c. 744. Adj. powerful, puissant; potential; capable, able; equal to, up to; cogent, valid; efficient, productive; effective, effectual, efficacious, adequate, competent; multipotent[obs3], plenipotent[obs3], omnipotent; almighty. forcible &c. adj. (energetic) 171; influential &c. 175; productive &c. 168. Adv. powerfully &c. adj.; by virtue of, by dint of. Phr. a toute force[Fr]; <gr/dos moi pou sto kai kino ten gen/gr>[Sp][Grk][Grk][Grk][Grk][Grk]; eripuit coelo fulmen sceptrumque tyrannis [Latin]; fortis cadere cedere non potest [Latin].
#158. Impotence.—N. impotence; inability, disability; disablement, impuissance, imbecility; incapacity, incapability; inaptitude, ineptitude, incompetence, unproductivity[obs3]; indocility[obs3]; invalidity, disqualification; inefficiency, wastefulness. telum imbelle[Lat], brutum fulmen[Lat], blank, blank cartridge, flash in the pan, vox et proeterea nihil[Lat], dead letter, bit of waste paper, dummy; paper tiger; Quaker gun. inefficacy &c. (inutility) 645[obs3]; failure &c. 732. helplessness &c. adj.; prostration, paralysis, palsy, apoplexy, syncope, sideration|, deliquium|[Lat], collapse, exhaustion, softening of the brain, inanition; emasculation, orchiotomy [Med], orchotomy[Med]. cripple, old woman, muff, powder puff, creampuff, pussycat, wimp, mollycoddle; eunuch. V. be impotent &c. adj.; not have a leg to stand on. vouloir rompre l'anguille au genou [French], vouloir prendre la lune avec les dents [French]. collapse, faint, swoon, fall into a swoon, drop; go by the board, go by the wayside; go up in smoke, end in smoke &c. (fail) 732. render powerless &c. adj.; deprive of power; disable, disenable[obs3]; disarm, incapacitate, disqualify, unfit, invalidate, deaden, cramp, tie the hands; double up, prostrate, paralyze, muzzle, cripple, becripple[obs3], maim, lame, hamstring, draw the teeth of; throttle, strangle, garrotte, garrote; ratten[obs3], silence, sprain, clip the wings of, put hors de combat[Fr], spike the guns; take the wind out of one's sails, scotch the snake, put a spoke in one's wheel; break the neck, break the back; unhinge, unfit; put out of gear. unman, unnerve, enervate; emasculate, castrate, geld, alter, neuter, sterilize, fix. shatter, exhaust, weaken &c. 160. Adj. powerless, impotent, unable, incapable, incompetent; inefficient, ineffective; inept; unfit, unfitted; unqualified, disqualified; unendowed; inapt, unapt; crippled, disabled &c. v.; armless[obs3]. harmless, unarmed, weaponless, defenseless, sine ictu[Lat], unfortified, indefensible, vincible, pregnable, untenable. paralytic, paralyzed; palsied, imbecile; nerveless, sinewless[obs3], marrowless[obs3], pithless[obs3], lustless[obs3]; emasculate, disjointed; out of joint, out of gear; unnerved, unhinged; water-logged, on one's beam ends, rudderless; laid on one's back; done up, dead beat, exhausted, shattered, demoralized; graveled &c. (in difficulty) 704; helpless, unfriended[obs3], fatherless; without a leg to stand on, hors de combat[Fr], laid on the shelf. null and void, nugatory, inoperative, good for nothing; ineffectual &c. (failing) 732; inadequate &c. 640; inefficacious &c. (useless) 645. Phr. der kranke Mann[Ger]; "desirous still but impotent to rise" [Shenstone]; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
#159. [Degree of power.] Strength.—N. strength; power &c. 157; energy &c. 171; vigor, force; main force, physical force, brute force; spring, elasticity, tone, tension, tonicity. stoutness &c. adj.; lustihood[obs3], stamina, nerve, muscle, sinew, thews and sinews, physique; pith, pithiness; virtility, vitality. athletics, athleticism[obs3]; gymnastics, feats of strength. adamant, steel, iron, oak, heart of oak; iron grip; grit, bone. athlete, gymnast, acrobat; superman, Atlas, Hercules, Antæus[obs3], Samson, Cyclops, Goliath; tower of strength; giant refreshed. strengthening &c. v.; invigoration, refreshment, refocillation[obs3]. [Science of forces] dynamics, statics. V. be strong &c. adj., be stronger; overmatch. render strong &c. adj.; give strength &c. n.; strengthen, invigorate, brace, nerve, fortify, sustain, harden, case harden, steel, gird; screw up, wind up, set up; gird up one's loins, brace up one's loins; recruit, set on one's legs; vivify; refresh &c. 689; refect[obs3]; reinforce, reenforce &c. (restore) 660. Adj. strong, mighty, vigorous, forcible, hard, adamantine, stout, robust, sturdy, hardy, powerful, potent, puissant, valid. resistless, irresistible, invincible, proof against, impregnable, unconquerable, indomitable, dominating, inextinguishable, unquenchable; incontestable; more than a match for; overpowering, overwhelming; all powerful, all sufficient; sovereign. able-bodied; athletic; Herculean, Cyclopean, Atlantean[obs3]; muscular, brawny, wiry, well-knit, broad-shouldered, sinewy, strapping, stalwart, gigantic. manly, man-like, manful; masculine, male, virile. unweakened[obs3], unallayed, unwithered[obs3], unshaken, unworn, unexhausted[obs3]; in full force, in full swing; in the plenitude of power. stubborn, thick-ribbed, made of iron, deep-rooted; strong as a lion, strong as a horse, strong as an ox, strong as brandy; sound as a roach; in fine feather, in high feather; built like a brick shithouse; like a giant refreshed. Adv. strongly &c. adj.; by force &c. n.; by main force &c. (by compulsion) 744. Phr. "our withers are unwrung" [Hamlet]. Blut und Eisen[Ger]; coelitus mihi vires[Lat]; du fort au diable[Fr]; en habiles gens[Lat]; ex vi termini; flecti non frangi[Lat]; "he that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill" [Burke]; "inflexible in faith invincible in arms" [Beattie].
#160. Weakness.—N. weakness &c. adj.; debility, atony[obs3], relaxation, languor, enervation; impotence &c. 158; infirmity; effeminacy, feminality[obs3]; fragility, flaccidity; inactivity &c. 683. anaemia, bloodlessness, deficiency of blood, poverty of blood. declension of strength, loss of strength, failure of strength; delicacy, invalidation, decrepitude, asthenia[obs3], adynamy[obs3], cachexy[obs3], cachexia[Med], sprain, strain. reed, thread, rope of sand, house of cards. softling[obs3], weakling; infant &c. 129; youth &c. 127. V. be weak &c. adj.; drop, crumble, give way, totter, tremble, shake, halt, limp, fade, languish, decline, flag, fail, have one leg in the grave. render weak &c. adj.; weaken, enfeeble, debilitate, shake, deprive of strength, relax, enervate, eviscerate; unbrace, unnerve; cripple, unman &c. (render powerless) 158; cramp, reduce, sprain, strain, blunt the edge of; dilute, impoverish; decimate; extenuate; reduce in strength, reduce the strength of; mettre de l'eau dans son vin[Fr]. Adj. weak, feeble, debile|; impotent &c. 158; relaxed, unnerved, &c. v.; sapless, strengthless[obs3], powerless; weakly, unstrung, flaccid, adynamic[obs3], asthenic[obs3]; nervous. soft, effeminate, feminate[obs3], womanly. frail, fragile, shattery[obs3]; flimsy, unsubstantial, insubstantial, gimcrack, gingerbread; rickety, creaky, creaking, cranky; craichy[obs3]; drooping, tottering &c. v.. broken, lame, withered, shattered, shaken, crazy, shaky; palsied &c. 158; decrepit. languid, poor, infirm; faint, faintish[obs3]; sickly &c. (disease) 655; dull, slack, evanid|, spent, short-winded, effete; weather-beaten; decayed, rotten, worn, seedy, languishing, wasted, washy, laid low, pulled down, the worse for wear. unstrengthened &c. 159[obs3], unsupported, unaided, unassisted; aidless[obs3], defenseless &c. 158; cantilevered (support) 215. on its last legs; weak as a child, weak as a baby, weak as a chicken, weak as a cat, weak as a rat; weak as water, weak as water gruel, weak as gingerbread, weak as milk and water; colorless &c. 429. Phr. non sum qualis eram[Lat].