sake

CEFRB1

/ˈseɪ̯k/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A purpose or reason for doing something.

  2. 02

    noun

    A Japanese alcoholic drink made from rice.

Examples

  • Don't be angry with me, for I did it for your sake.

  • Your father went through all that trouble for your sake.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Purpose or end; reason.

  2. The benefit or regard of someone or something.

  3. Cause, interest or account.

More examples

In context

  • 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 242a-b. But it will be for your sake that we'll undertake to refute this thesis, […]

  • For the sake of argument

  • For old times' sake

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

She worked hard every day for the blank of her children's future.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English sake (“sake, cause”), from Old English sacu (“cause, lawsuit, legal action, complaint, issue, dispute”), from Proto-West Germanic *saku, from Proto-Germanic *sakō (“affair, thing, charge, accusation, matter”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- (“to investigate”). Akin to West Frisian saak (“cause; business”), Low German Saak, Dutch zaak (“matter; cause; business”), German Sache (“thing; matter; cause; legal cause”), Danish sag, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish sak, Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌺𐌾𐍉 (sakjō, “dispute, argument”), Old English sōcn (“inquiry, prosecution”), Old English sēcan (“to seek”). More at soke, soken, seek.