casual

English Online Dictionary. What means casual‎? What does casual mean?

English

Alternative forms

• casuall (obsolete)
• (shortening, informal) cazh

Etymology

From Middle French casuel, from Late Latin cāsuālis (“happening by chance”), from Latin cāsus (“event”) (English case), from cadere (“to fall”) (whence English cadence).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkaʒ(uː)əl/, /ˈkaʒjuːəl/, /ˈkazjuːəl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkæʒ(u)əl/, /ˈkæʒwəl/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛʒ(ʉː)əl/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /-uːæl/
• Hyphenation: ca‧su‧al, cas‧ual, casu‧al

Adjective

casual (comparative more casual, superlative most casual)

1. Happening by chance.
2. Coming without regularity; occasional or incidental.
3. Employed irregularly.
4. Careless.
5. Happening or coming to pass without design.
7. (of behavior, usage, or milieu) Informal; relaxed.

9. (of clothing or utensils) Designed for informal or everyday use.

   Hyponym: business casual

Synonyms

• (happening by chance): accidental, fortuitous, incidental, occasional, random; see also Thesaurus:accidental
• (happening or coming to pass without design): unexpected
• (relaxed; everyday use): informal

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "happening by chance"): inevitable, necessary
• (antonym(s) of "happening or coming to pass without design"): expected, scheduled
• (antonym(s) of "relaxed; everyday use"): ceremonial, formal

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

casual (plural casuals)

1. (British, Australia, New Zealand) A worker who is only working for a company occasionally, not as its permanent employee.
2. A soldier temporarily at a place of duty, usually en route to another place of duty.
4. (UK, historical) A member of a group of football hooligans who wear expensive designer clothing to avoid police attention; see casual (subculture).

   Synonyms: dresser, (Manchester) Perry boy
5. One who receives relief for a night in a parish to which he does not belong; a vagrant.
6. (video games, informal, derogatory) A player of casual games.

7. (fandom slang) A person whose engagement with media is relaxed or superficial.
   • 1972, Lee C. Garrison, "The Needs of Motion Picture Audiences", California Management Review, Volume 15, Issue 2, Winter 1972, page 149:

     Casuals outnumbered regulars in the art-house audience two to one.
8. (British, dated) A tramp.
9. (in the plural) Shoes suitable for everyday use, as opposed to more formal footwear.

Translations

Related terms

• casualty
• case

References

• “casual”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Calusa, casula, causal

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cāsuālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [kə.zuˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [ka.zuˈal]

Adjective

casual m or f (masculine and feminine plural casuals)

1. casual
2. unplanned

Derived terms

• casualitat
• casualment

Further reading

• “casual” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “casual”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “casual” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “casual” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin cāsuālis.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: ca‧su‧al

Adjective

casual m or f (plural casuais)

1. casual (happening by chance)

   Synonym: fortuito

2. casual (coming without regularity)

   Synonym: ocasional

3. casual (designed for informal or everyday use)

Derived terms

• casualmente

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin cāsuālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaˈswal/ [kaˈswal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ca‧sual

Adjective

casual m or f (masculine and feminine plural casuales)

1. casual
2. accidental
3. coincidental, chance

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Cebuano: kaswal

Further reading

• “casual”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014