Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Sake
Sake
(sāk)
, Noun.
[OE.
sake
cause, also, lawsuit, fault, AS. sacu
strife, a cause or suit at law; akin to D. zaak
cause, thing, affair, G. sache
thing, cause in law, OHG. sahha
, Icel. sök
, Sw. sak
, Dan. sag
, Goth. sakjō
strife, AS. sacan
to contend, strive, Goth. sakam
, Icel. saka
to contend, strive, blame, OHG. sahhan
, MHG. sachen
, to contend, strive, defend one’s right, accuse, charge in a lawsuit, and also to E. seek
. Cf. Seek
.] Final cause; end; purpose of obtaining; cause; motive; reason; interest; concern; account; regard or respect; – used chiefly in such phrases as, for the sake of, for his sake, for man's sake, for mercy's sake, and the like;
as, to commit crime for the
. sake
of gain; to go abroad for the sake
of one's healthMoved with wrath and shame and ladies'
sake
. Spenser.
I will not again curse the ground any more for man's
sake
. Gen. viii. 21.
Will he draw out,
For anger's
For anger's
sake
, finite to infinite? Milton.
Knowledge is for the
sake
of man, and not man for the sake
of knowledge. Sir W. Hamilton.
☞ The -s of the possessive case preceding sake is sometimes omitted for euphony; as, for goodness sake. “For conscience sake.”
1 Cor. x. 28.
The plural sakes is often used with a possessive plural. “For both our sakes.” Shak.
Webster 1828 Edition
Sake
SAKE
,Noun.
1.
Final cause; end; purpose; or rather the purpose of obtaining. I open a window for the sake of air, that is, to obtain it, for the purpose of obtaining air. I read for the sake of instruction, that is, to obtain it. Sake then signifies primarily effort to obtain, and secondarily purpose of obtaining. The hero fights for the sake of glory; men labor for the sake of subsistence or wealth.2.
Account; regard to any person or thing. I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake. Gen. 8.
Save me for thy mercies' sake. Ps. 6.
Definition 2024
Sake
sake
sake
English
Pronunciation
- enPR: sāk, IPA(key): /seɪk/
- Rhymes: -eɪk
Noun
sake (plural sakes)
- Cause, interest or account.
- For the sake of argument
- Purpose or end; reason.
- For old times' sake
- The benefit or regard of someone or something.
- 1897, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:
- When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me.
- 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 242a-b.
- But it will be for your sake that we'll undertake to refute this thesis, […]
-
- (obsolete except in phrases) Contention, strife; guilt, sin, accusation or charge.
- And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. — Genesis 3:17
Usage notes
- The word sake is generally used in constructions of the form "for X's sake" or "for the sake of X", where X is a noun (see the quotations above, for sake of, and for the sake of).
- Garner's Modern American Usage notes it is common to write an apostrophe rather than apostrophe–ess in this construction when the noun ends in an /s/ or /z/ sound: for appearance' sake, for goodness' sake.
Derived terms
Related terms
Related terms
Translations
cause, interest or account
purpose or end; reason
benefit
Etymology 2
From Japanese 酒 (さけ, sake), any alcoholic drink.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- enPR: säkā, IPA(key): /sɑːkeɪ/
- Rhymes: -ɑːkeɪ
- enPR: säkē, IPA(key): /sɑːki/
- Rhymes: -ɑːki
Noun
sake (countable and uncountable, plural sakes)
Synonyms
Translations
Japanese rice wine
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See also
Statistics
Most common English words before 1923: wouldn't · success · instance · #906: sake · justice · offer · promise
Anagrams
Finnish
Noun
sake
- sake (Japanese rice wine)
Declension
Inflection of sake (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation) | |||
---|---|---|---|
nominative | sake | saket | |
genitive | saken | sakejen | |
partitive | sakea | sakeja | |
illative | sakeen | sakeihin | |
singular | plural | ||
nominative | sake | saket | |
accusative | nom. | sake | saket |
gen. | saken | ||
genitive | saken | sakejen sakeinrare |
|
partitive | sakea | sakeja | |
inessive | sakessa | sakeissa | |
elative | sakesta | sakeista | |
illative | sakeen | sakeihin | |
adessive | sakella | sakeilla | |
ablative | sakelta | sakeilta | |
allative | sakelle | sakeille | |
essive | sakena | sakeina | |
translative | sakeksi | sakeiksi | |
instructive | — | sakein | |
abessive | saketta | sakeitta | |
comitative | — | sakeineen |
Polish
Etymology
From Japanese 酒 (sake), any alcoholic drink.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈs̪akɛ]
Noun
sake n (indeclinable)