causa sine qua non

American  

[kau-sah si-ne kwah nohn, kaw-zuh sahy-nee kway non, kaw-zuh sin-ay kwah nohn] / ˈkaʊ sɑ ˈsɪ nɛ kwɑ ˈnoʊn, ˈkɔ zə ˈsaɪ ni kweɪ ˈnɒn, ˈkɔ zə ˈsɪn eɪ kwɑ ˈnoʊn /

noun

Latin.

1. an indispensable condition; requisite.

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Etymology

Origin of causa sine qua non

Literally, “a cause without which not”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

causa sine qua non

Concerning the word "faith," 1549, Flacius, for example had said that our effort to obey God might be called a "causa sine qua non, or something which serves salvation."

From Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church by F. (Friedrich) Bente

And in this sense his purpose was causa sine qua non, a cause without which any given event would not have happened, and therefore could not have been foreseen as certain.

From Calvinistic Controversy Embracing a Sermon on Predestination and Election and Several Numbers, Formally Published in the Christian Advocate and Journal. by Wilbur Fisk

For the same reason Flacius objected to the phrase that good works are necessary as causa sine qua non.

From Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church by F. (Friedrich) Bente

In his Loci of 1535 he taught that, in the article of justification, good works are the causa sine qua non and are necessary to salvation, ad vitam aeternam, ad salutem.

From Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church by F. (Friedrich) Bente

The lawyer who asks his client about the "causa sine qua non," or harangues the jury concerning the "ipse dixit" of "de facto" and "de jure," will probably be mulcted for costs on general principles.

From Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 12 Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Scientists by Elbert Hubbard