ursächliche

Ursächliche is the inflected form of the German adjective ursächlich, meaning causal or pertaining to a cause. It is used to describe a relationship, factor, or condition that serves as the cause of another phenomenon. In everyday language, synonyms such as kausal are common, but ursächlich is frequently found in more formal, scientific, or philosophical writing. Phrases frequently encountered include ursächlicher Zusammenhang (causal relationship), ursächlicher Faktor (causal factor), and ursächliche Bedingung (causal condition). The combination ursächliche Ursache is common in formal texts, though it is sometimes viewed as tautological because Ursache inherently denotes a cause.

Philosophical and scientific usage often centers on distinguishing causal relationships from correlations or statistical associations. Ursächlich is used to express that one event or condition is the origin of another, as in sentences like "Die ursächliche Verbindung zwischen Faktor A und Effekt B." In legal or investigative contexts, the term may help emphasize the causative link rather than mere coincidence.

Grammatical notes include that ursächliche is the base adjective, with endings adapting to gender, number, and case. For example: der ursächliche Zusammenhang (masculine singular, definite article), die ursächliche Ursache (feminine singular, definite article), ein ursächlicher Zusammenhang (masculine singular, indefinite article), die ursächlichen Ursachen (plural). Predicative use is possible, as in "Die Ursache ist ursächlich." The adjective forms align with standard German weak or mixed declension patterns after determiners and with strong declension when used without articles.

Etymology traces ursächlich to Ursache (cause) with the suffix -lich, and the prefix Ur- indicating origin or primacy.