Note: Accūsātīvus is the Latin translation of Greek (ptôsis) aitiatikḗ; the early Roman grammarians who coined it presumably had in mind the verb aitiâsthai, which means both "to accuse, censure" and "to allege as the cause." The base of aitiâsthai is aitía, which corresponds approximately in meaning with causa, the base of accūsāre. Nonetheless, if ptôsis aitiatikḗ is the "causal case," cāsus accūsātīvus does not really convey the same idea, and the translation is more apt etymologically than literally.