Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Occasion

Occasion (ok*kā"zhun) , noun

[French occasion, Latin occasio, from occidere, occasum, to fall down; ob (see Ob-) + cadere to fall. See Chance, and compare Occident.]

1.
A falling out, happening, or coming to pass; hence, that which falls out or happens; occurrence; incident; event.
The unlooked-for incidents of family history, and its hidden excitements, and its arduous occasions. — I. Taylor
2.
A favorable opportunity; a convenient or timely chance; convenience.
Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me. — Rom. vii. 11
I'll take the occasion which he gives to bring Him to his death. — Waller
3.
An occurrence or condition of affairs which brings with it some unlooked-for event; that which incidentally brings to pass an event, without being its efficient cause or sufficient reason; accidental or incidental cause.
Her beauty was the occasion of the war. — Dryden
4.
Need; exigency; requirement; necessity; as, I have no occasion for firearms.
After we have served ourselves and our own occasions. — Jer. Taylor
When my occasions took me into France. — Burke
5.
A reason or excuse; a motive; a persuasion.
Whose manner was, all passengers to stay, And entertain with her occasions sly. — Spenser
Collocations (1)
On occasion , (a) in case of need; in necessity; as convenience requires. That we might have intelligence from him on occasion, — De Foe (b) occasionally; from time to time; now and then.

Occasion (ok*kā"zhun) , transitive verb

[Compare French occasionner.]

To give occasion to; to cause; to produce; to induce; as, to occasion anxiety. — South
If we inquire what it is that occasions men to make several combinations of simple ideas into distinct modes. — Locke