The quality or state of being causative; the property of producing or causing an effect.
Derived from causing (present participle of cause) plus the suffix -ness, which forms abstract nouns. This is a straightforward English formation that appeared in philosophical and scientific writing to describe the abstract concept of causation.
This word reveals how English speakers turn action words into abstract ideas through -ness—we do this constantly but rarely notice it. Philosophers use 'causingness' to discuss whether objects have true causal power or just appear to cause things.
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