Causatus

Causatus is a Latin term functioning primarily as the perfect passive participle of the verb causare, meaning having been caused or caused. In Latin, participles formed with the suffix -atus agree in gender and number with the noun they modify: causatus (masculine), causata (feminine), and causatum (neuter). As a participle, causatus can describe a state resulting from a prior action or serve in compound tenses when used with forms of sum.

Etymology and form: The word derives from causa, meaning cause or reason, plus the suffix -tus, which yields a past passive participle. Its core sense centers on result or effect—emphasizing that something has been caused by an antecedent factor.

Usage in Latin: Causatus appears in classical and post-classical Latin as an attribute or as part of verbal periphrasis. It commonly conveys the idea that a thing or event is the result of a preceding cause. As with other participles, its placement within a sentence is flexible, and it can function adjectivally or adverbially when part of a larger participial clause.

Modern derivatives and influence: The Latin root cau-s or causa survives in many Romance languages, producing forms such as Italian causato, Spanish causado, and Portuguese causado, all conveying “caused.” In English-language philology and linguistic terminology, causatus is most often encountered in discussions of Latin morphology rather than as a common lexical item. The noun and adjective families built from causa give rise to related terms in philosophy and science, such as causation and causal, though causatus itself is largely confined to Latin grammar and textual analysis.

See also: causa, causation, causal, causatum.