Case Case noun [ French cas , from Latin casus , from cadere to fall, to happen. Confer Chance .] 1. Chance; accident; hap; opportunity. [ Obsolete]

By aventure, or sort, or cas .
Chaucer.

2. That which befalls, comes, or happens; an event; an instance; a circumstance, or all the circumstances; condition; state of things; affair; as, a strange case ; a case of injustice; the case of the Indian tribes.

In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge.
Deut. xxiv. 13.

If the case of the man be so with his wife.
Matt. xix. 10.

And when a lady's in the case
You know all other things give place.
Gay.

You think this madness but a common case .
Pope.

I am in case to justle a constable,
Shak.

3. (Med. & Surg.) A patient under treatment; an instance of sickness or injury; as, ten cases of fever; also, the history of a disease or injury.

A proper remedy in hypochondriacal cases .
Arbuthnot.

4. (Law) The matters of fact or conditions involved in a suit, as distinguished from the questions of law; a suit or action at law; a cause.

Let us consider the reason of the case , for nothing is law that is not reason.
Sir John Powell.

Not one case in the reports of our courts.
Steele.

5. (Gram.) One of the forms, or the inflections or changes of form, of a noun, pronoun, or adjective, which indicate its relation to other words, and in the aggregate constitute its declension; the relation which a noun or pronoun sustains to some other word.

Case is properly a falling off from the nominative or first state of word; the name for which, however, is now, by extension of its signification, applied also to the nominative.
J. W. Gibbs.

» Cases other than the nominative are oblique cases . Case endings are terminations by which certain cases are distinguished. In old English, as in Latin, nouns had several cases distinguished by case endings , but in modern English only that of the possessive case is retained.

Action on the case (Law) , according to the old classification (now obsolete), was an action for redress of wrongs or injuries to person or property not specially provided against by law, in which the whole cause of complaint was set out in the writ; -- called also trespass on the case , or simply case . -- All a case , a matter of indifference. [ Obsolete] "It is all a case to me." L'Estrange. -- Case at bar . See under Bar , noun -- Case divinity , casuistry. -- Case lawyer , one versed in the reports of cases rather than in the science of the law. -- Case stated or agreed on (Law) , a statement in writing of facts agreed on and submitted to the court for a decision of the legal points arising on them. -- A hard case , an abandoned or incorrigible person. [ Colloq.] -- In any case , whatever may be the state of affairs; anyhow. -- In case , or In case that , if; supposing that; in the event or contingency; if it should happen that. " In case we are surprised, keep by me." W. Irving. -- In good case , in good condition, health, or state of body. -- To put a case , to suppose a hypothetical or illustrative case.

Syn. -- Situation, condition, state; circumstances; plight; predicament; occurrence; contingency; accident; event; conjuncture; cause; action; suit.

Case Case intransitive verb To propose hypothetical cases. [ Obsolete] " Casing upon the matter." L'Estrange.

Case shot Case" shot` (Mil.) A collection of small projectiles, inclosed in a case or canister.

» In the United States a case shot is a thin spherical or oblong cast-iron shell containing musket balls and a bursting charge, with a time fuse; -- called in Europe shrapnel . In Europe the term case shot is applied to what in the United States is called canister . Wilhelm.

Case system Case system (Law) The system of teaching law in which the instruction is primarily a historical and inductive study of leading or selected cases, with or without the use of textbooks for reference and collateral reading.

Case-bay Case"-bay` noun (Architecture) (a) The space between two principals or girders . (b) One of the joists framed between a pair of girders in naked flooring.

Caseation Ca`se·a"tion noun [ Confer French caséation . See Casein .] (Medicine) A degeneration of animal tissue into a cheesy or curdy mass.

Caseharden Case"hard`en transitive verb 1. To subject to a process which converts the surface of iron into steel.

2. To render insensible to good influences.

Casehardened Case"hard`ened adjective 1. Having the surface hardened, as iron tools.

2. Hardened against, or insusceptible to, good influences; rendered callous by persistence in wrongdoing or resistance of good influences; -- said of persons.

Casehardening Case"hard`en·ing noun The act or process of converting the surface of iron into steel. Ure.

» Casehardening is now commonly effected by cementation with charcoal or other carbonizing material, the depth and degree of hardening (carbonization) depending on the time during which the iron is exposed to the heat. See Cementation .

Caseic Ca"se·ic adjective [ Confer French caséique , from Latin caseus cheese.] Of or pertaining to cheese; as, caseic acid.

Casein Ca"se·in noun [ Confer French caséine , from Latin caseur cheese. Confer Cheese .] (Physiol. Chem.) A proteid substance present in both the animal and the vegetable kingdom. In the animal kingdom it is chiefly found in milk, and constitutes the main part of the curd separated by rennet; in the vegetable kingdom it is found more or less abundantly in the seeds of leguminous plants. Its reactions resemble those of alkali albumin. [ Written also caseine .]

Case" knife` 1. A knife carried in a sheath or case. Addison.

2. A large table knife; -- so called from being formerly kept in a case .

Casemate Case"mate noun [ French casemate , from Italian casamatta , probably from casa house + matto , f. matta , mad, weak, feeble, dim. from the same source as English -mate in checkmate .]

1. (Fort.) A bombproof chamber, usually of masonry, in which cannon may be placed, to be fired through embrasures; or one capable of being used as a magazine, or for quartering troops.

2. (Architecture) A hollow molding, chiefly in cornices.

Casemated Case"ma`ted adjective Furnished with, protected by, or built like, a casemate. Campbell.

Casement Case"ment noun [ Shortened from encasement . See Incase 1st Case , and confer Incasement .] (Architecture) A window sash opening on hinges affixed to the upright side of the frame into which it is fitted. (Poetically) A window.

A casement of the great chamber window.
Shak.

Casemented Case"ment·ed adjective Having a casement or casements.

Caseose Ca"se·ose noun [ Case in + - ose .] (Physiol.Chem.) A soluble product (proteose) formed in the gastric and pancreatic digestion of casein and caseinogen.

Caseous Ca"se·ous adjective [ Latin caseus . Confer Casein .] Of, pertaining to, or resembling, cheese; having the qualities of cheese; cheesy.

Caseous degeneration , a morbid process, in scrofulous or consumptive persons, in which the products of inflammation are converted into a cheesy substance which is neither absorbed nor organized.

Casern Ca"sern noun [ French caserne .] A lodging for soldiers in garrison towns, usually near the rampart; barracks. Bescherelle.

Caseum Ca"se·um noun [ Latin caseus cheese.] Same as Casein .

Caseworm Case"worm` noun (Zoology) A worm or grub that makes for itself a case. See Caddice .

Cash Cash noun [ French caisse case, box, cash box, cash. See Case a box.] A place where money is kept, or where it is deposited and paid out; a money box. [ Obsolete]

This bank is properly a general cash , where every man lodges his money.
Sir W. Temple.

£20,000 are known to be in her cash .
Sir R. Winwood.

2. (Com.) (a) Ready money; especially, coin or specie; but also applied to bank notes, drafts, bonds, or any paper easily convertible into money . (b) Immediate or prompt payment in current funds; as, to sell goods for cash ; to make a reduction in price for cash .

Cash account (Bookkeeping) , an account of money received, disbursed, and on hand. -- Cash boy , in large retail stores, a messenger who carries the money received by the salesman from customers to a cashier, and returns the proper change. [ Colloq.] -- Cash credit , an account with a bank by which a person or house, having given security for repayment, draws at pleasure upon the bank to the extent of an amount agreed upon; -- called also bank credit and cash account . -- Cash sales , sales made for ready, money, in distinction from those on which credit is given; stocks sold, to be delivered on the day of transaction.

Syn. -- Money; coin; specie; currency; capital.

Cash Cash transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Cashed ; present participle & verbal noun Casing .] To pay, or to receive, cash for; to exchange for money; as, cash a note or an order.

Cash Cash transitive verb [ See Cashier .] To disband. [ Obsolete] Garges.

Cash Cash noun sing & plural A Chinese coin.

» The cash ( Chinese tsien ) is the only current coin made by the chinese government. It is a thin circular disk of a very base alloy of copper, with a square hole in the center. 1,000 to 1,400 cash are equivalent to a dollar.

Cash railway Cash railway A form of cash carrier in which a small carrier or car travels upon a kind of track.

Cash register Cash register A device for recording the amount of cash received, usually having an automatic adding machine and a money drawer and exhibiting the amount of the sale.

Cashbook Cash"book (kăsh"bok) noun (Bookkeeping) A book in which is kept a register of money received or paid out.

Cashew Ca·shew" (kȧ*shō") noun [ French acajou , for cajou , probably from Malay kāyu tree; confer Portuguese acaju , confer Acajou .] (Botany) A tree ( Anacardium occidentale ) of the same family which the sumac. It is native in tropical America, but is now naturalized in all tropical countries. Its fruit, a kidney-shaped nut, grows at the extremity of an edible, pear- shaped hypocarp, about three inches long.

Cashew nut , the large, kidney-shaped fruit of the cashew, which is edible after the caustic oil has been expelled from the shell by roasting the nut.

Cashier Cash·ier" (kăsh*ēr") noun [ French caissier , from caisse . See Cash .] One who has charge of money; a cash keeper; the officer who has charge of the payments and receipts (moneys, checks, notes), of a bank or a mercantile company.

Cashier Cash·ier" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Cahiered ; present participle &verbal noun Cashiering .] [ Earlier cash , from French casser to break, annul, cashier, from Latin cassare , equiv. to cassum reddere , to annul; confer German cassiren . Confer Quash to annul, Cass .] 1. To dismiss or discard; to discharge; to dismiss with ignominy from military service or from an office or place of trust.

They have cashiered several of their followers.
Addison.

He had insolence to cashier the captain of the lord lieutenant's own body guard.
Macaulay.

2. To put away or reject; to disregard. [ R.]

Connections formed for interest, and endeared

By selfish views, [ are] censured and cashiered .
Cowper.

They absolutely cashier the literal express sense of the words.
Sowth.

Cashier's check Cash·ier's" check (Banking) A check drawn by a bank upon its own funds, signed by the cashier.

Cashierer Cash·ier"er noun One who rejects, discards, or dismisses; as, a cashierer of monarchs. [ R.] Burke.

Cashmere Cash"mere noun 1. A rich stuff for shawls, scarfs, etc., originally made in Cashmere from the soft wool found beneath the hair of the goats of Cashmere, Thibet, and the Himalayas. Some cashmere, of fine quality, is richly embroidered for sale to Europeans.

2. A dress fabric made of fine wool, or of fine wool and cotton, in imitation of the original cashmere.

Cashmere shawl , a rich and costly shawl made of cashmere; -- often called camel's-hair shawl .

Cashmerette Cash`me·rette" noun A kind of dress goods, made with a soft and glossy surface like cashmere.

Cashoo Ca·shoo" noun [ French cachou , New Latin catechu , Cochin-Chin. cay cau from the tree called mimosa , or areca catechu . Confer Catechu .] See Catechu .

Casing Cas"ing noun 1. The act or process of inclosing in, or covering with, a case or thin substance, as plaster, boards, etc.

2. An outside covering, for protection or ornament, or to precent the radiation of heat.

3. An inclosing frame; esp. the framework around a door or a window. See Case , noun , 4.

Casings Ca"sings noun plural Dried dung of cattle used as fuel. [ Prov. Eng.] Waterland.

Casino Ca·si"no noun ; plural English Casinos , Italian Casini . [ Italian casino , dim. of casa house, from Latin casa cottage. Confer Cassing .] 1. A small country house.

2. A building or room used for meetings, or public amusements, for dancing, gaming, etc.

3. A game at cards. See Cassino .

Cask Cask noun [ Spanish casco potsherd, skull, helmet, probably from cascar to break, from Latin Quassure to break. Confer Casque , Cass .] 1. Same as Casque . [ Obsolete]

2. A barrel-shaped vessel made of staves headings, and hoops, usually fitted together so as to hold liquids. It may be larger or smaller than a barrel.

3. The quantity contained in a cask.

4. A casket; a small box for jewels. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Cask Cask transitive verb To put into a cask.

Casket Cas"ket noun [ Confer French casquet , dim. of casque belmet, from Spanish casco .] 1. A small chest or box, esp. of rich material or ornamental character, as for jewels, etc.

The little casket bring me hither.
Shak.

2. A kind of burial case. [ U. S.]

3. Anything containing or intended to contain something highly esteemed ; as: (a) The body. ( Shak. ) (b) The tomb. ( Milton ). (c) A book of selections. [ poetic]

They found him dead . . . an empty casket .
Shak.

Casket Cas"ket noun (Nautical) A gasket. See Gasket .

Casket Cas"ket transitive verb To put into, or preserve in, a casket. [ Poetic] "I have casketed my treasure." Shak.

Casque Casque noun [ French casque , from Spanish casco See Cask .] A piece of defensive or ornamental armor (with or without a vizor) for the head and neck; a helmet.

His casque overshadowed with brilliant plumes.
Prescott.

Cass Cass (kăs) transitive verb [ French casser , Late Latin cassare , from Latin cassus empty, hollow, and perhaps influenced by Latin quassare to shake, shatter, v. intens. of quatere to shake. Confer Cashier , transitive verb , Quash , Cask .] To render useless or void; to quash; to annul; to reject; to send away. [ Obsolete] Sir W. Raleigh.

Cassada Cas"sa·da (kăs"sȧ*dȧ; 277) noun See Cassava .

Cassareep Cas"sa·reep (-rēp) noun A condiment made from the sap of the bitter cassava ( Manihot utilissima ) deprived of its poisonous qualities, concentrated by boiling, and flavored with aromatics. See Pepper pot .

Cassate Cas"sate transitive verb [ Late Latin cassare . See Cass .] To render void or useless; to vacate or annul. [ Obsolete]

Cassation Cas·sa"tion noun [ French cassation . See Cass .] The act of annulling.

A general cassation of their constitutions.
Motley.

Court of cassation , the highest court of appeal in France, which has power to quash ( Casser ) or reverse the decisions of the inferior courts.

Cassava Cas"sa·va (kăs"sȧ*vȧ) noun [ French cassave , Spanish cazabe , from kasabi , in the language of Haiti.] 1. (Botany) A shrubby euphorbiaceous plant of the genus Manihot , with fleshy rootstocks yielding an edible starch; -- called also manioc .

» There are two species, bitter and sweet , from which the cassava of commerce is prepared in the West Indies, tropical America, and Africa. The bitter ( Manihot utilissima ) is the more important; this has a poisonous sap, but by grating, pressing, and baking the root the poisonous qualities are removed. The sweet ( M. Aipi ) is used as a table vegetable.

2. A nutritious starch obtained from the rootstocks of the cassava plant, used as food and in making tapioca.

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