• IPA: /əˈkeɪʒən/

occasion

1. A favorable opportunity; a convenient or timely chance. [from 14th c.]
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981 ↗, Romans 7:11 ↗:

     For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

   • I'll take the occasion which he gives to bring / Him to his death.

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, chapter I, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. In Six Volumes, volume (please specify ), London: Printed by A[ndrew] Millar, […], OCLC 928184292 ↗, book IV:

2. The time when something happens.

   At this point, she seized the occasion to make her own observation.

3. An occurrence or state of affairs which causes some event or reaction; a motive or reason. [from 14th c.]

   I had no occasion to feel offended, however.

4. Something which causes something else; a cause. [from 14th c.]
   • 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, in Kupperman 1988, p. 130:

     it were too vile to say, and scarce to be beleeved, what we endured: but the occasion was our owne, for want of providence, industrie and government [...].

5. (obsolete) An occurrence or incident. [14th-18th c.]
6. A particular happening; an instance or time when something occurred. [from 15th c.]

   I could think of two separate occasions when she had deliberately lied to me.

   a momentous occasion in the history of South Africa

7. Need; requirement, necessity. [from 16th c.]

   I have no occasion for firearms.

   • after we have served ourselves and our own occasions

   • when my occasions took me into France

8. A special event or function. [from 19th c.]

   Having people round for dinner was always quite an occasion at our house.

9. A reason or excuse; a motive; a persuasion.

   • Whose manner was, all passengers to stay, / And entertain with her occasions sly.

• French: occasion
• German: Gelegenheit
• Italian: occasione
• Portuguese: ocasião
• Russian: слу́чай
• Spanish: ocasión

• Russian: по́вод

• German: Gelegenheit
• Russian: собы́тие

• German: Anlass
• Portuguese: ocasião
• Russian: (chance) возмо́жность

occasion (occasions, present participle occasioning; past and past participle occasioned)

1. (transitive) To cause; to produce; to induce

   it is seen that the mental changes are occasioned by a change of polarity

• Italian: occasionare
• Spanish: ocasionar