How did "lawsuit" semantically generalize to mean 'thing'?

l’m startled that 'thing' came from 'lawsuit'? Why would lawsuit generalize to things? This semantic shift is unnatural and kooky, because like most people, I hate lawsuits - they stress me out and cost a lot of fees. I don't get how lawsuits - so arcane, esoteric, hated - that they can be generalized to things? Lawsuits aren't truly a part of everyday good life, and isn't a common thing?

If anything, the semantic shift should be the other way around? Things should have narrowed to signify lawsuits?

An analogy is Spanish cosa or French chose (meaning "thing"). Both words derive from Latin causa, which meant (among other things) "matter pursued through legal proceedings", "case" (in the sense of a lawsuit).

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I've heard that it has to do with the Latin res. In Latin, res means something like "matter", and was used in both legal and general senses. OE þing was a legal matter (hence alþing that we know) and then by extension was given the same general meaning as res.

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Words meaning "thing" are often the result of partial semantic bleaching.For English "thing", and its cognates like German Ding, the chain of meanings was "meeting" -> "subject of discussion" -> "thing". There was a very similar development in the Romance languages, where Latin causa ("cause, legal case, lawsuit") became Spanish cosa, French chose, etc, also meaning "thing".Even Latin res "thing" originated from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning something like "wealth", "precious object(s)".

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Similarly, Latin causa meant cause as well as legal claim, later justification and objective and in the modern Romance languages, its descendants, Spanish cosa, French chose, Portuguese coisa, and others, mean thing.

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I'm not sure exactly what you're asking, but it's true that both Latin causa and Germanic thing have undergone substantial semantic shifts. I've just checked on Wiktionary, and it looks like causa began as "cause, reason" (thus borrowed into English as cause), then acquired a narrowed sense "cause for going to law", that is "lawsuit". The generalization to the bland meaning "thing" (French chose, Italian cosa) is perhaps surprising, so let's look at the other word.

The Germanic thing was originally an assembly, then was apparently narrowed to something discussed at an assembly - a topic, a subject, a thing under discussion. The further spreading to the very general "idea, object, entity", its modern meaning, is perhaps more understandable than the change in Late Latin causa, but is the same kind of thing. (No pun intended, but unavoidable.)

entangledbank said:

The Germanic thing was originally an assembly, then was apparently narrowed to something discussed at an assembly - a topic, a subject, a thing under discussion. The further spreading to the very general "idea, object, entity",

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The entire range of meanings can be found in all old West Germanic languages, which suggests that all the meanings developed in proto West Germanic. The original meaning seems to be appointment, event, from which all the other meanings are derived.

The word is not attested in Gothic and in North Germanic it still means assembly, council. Danish, Swedish and Norwegian also have the meaning ting=thing but this is most likely Low German influence.

Lawyers often reference cases (and indeed legal matters in letter headings) with the expression 're:' (which we pronounce as /ri:/, whereas I've heard laypeople prefer, /reɪ/).

So, you might have an English court case, Re: H (a child) [2025] CA, where the 'subject matter' of the case involves the issue of a child (anonymised for their protection to a single initial). This is read as 'ree aitch (a child)'.

In the same way, a lawyer's letter to a client could be headed, 'Re: Your dispute with your neighbour'. Again, the 'subject matter' of the issue is the dispute with the neighbour.

In these contexts, it's fairly straightforward to see the connection with the (original) Latin of res for 'a thing' - this being the 'subject matter' of the case/issue involved. However, for the fuller etymologies and relevance of the Germanic languages, I am happy to cede that to the experts on here.

Latin res has (among others) the meanings "law case" and "thing". German Sache has the same two meanings.

fdb said:

meanings "law case"

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And in both languages this is just a limiting case of the broader meaning topic/subject of deliberation/consideration/treatment.