Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Being without ceremony or formality; relaxed or informal.
  • adjective Unpremeditated or offhand.
  • adjective Suited for everyday wear or informal use.
  • adjective Not serious or thorough; superficial.
  • adjective Showing little interest or concern; nonchalant.
  • adjective Occurring or being such by chance: synonym: chance.
  • adjective Occurring at irregular or infrequent intervals; occasional.
  • adjective Employed on an irregular basis.
  • adjective Socialized with only occasionally; not close or intimate.
  • adjective Being or occurring between sexual partners who are not in an established relationship.
  • noun One that serves or appears at irregular intervals, especially a temporary worker.
  • noun Casualwear.
  • noun A soldier temporarily attached to a unit while awaiting permanent assignment.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Happening or coming to pass without (apparent) cause, without design on the part of the agent, in an unaccountable manner, or as a mere coincidence or accident; coming by chance; accidental; fortuitous; indeterminate: as, a casual encounter.
  • Occasional; coming at uncertain times, or without regularity, in distinction from stated or regular; incidental: as, casual expenses.
  • noun A person who receives relief and shelter for one night at the most in a workhouse or police-station, or who receives treatment in a hospital for an accidental injury.
  • noun A laborer or an artisan employed only irregularly.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Happening or coming to pass without design, and without being foreseen or expected; accidental; fortuitous; coming by chance.
  • adjective Coming without regularity; occasional; incidental.
  • noun One who receives relief for a night in a parish to which he does not belong; a vagrant.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Happening by chance.
  • adjective Coming without regularity; occasional or incidental.
  • adjective Employed irregularly
  • adjective Careless.
  • adjective Happening or coming to pass without design.
  • adjective Informal, relaxed.
  • adjective Designed for informal use.
  • noun UK, New Zealand A worker who is only working for a company occasionally, not as its permanent employee.
  • noun A soldier temporarily at a place of duty, usually en route to another place of duty.
  • noun UK A member of a group of football hooligans who wear expensive designer clothing to avoid police attention; see Casual (subculture).
  • noun One who receives relief for a night in a parish to which he does not belong; a vagrant.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective occurring or appearing or singled out by chance
  • adjective natural and unstudied
  • adjective hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
  • adjective not showing effort or strain
  • adjective characterized by a feeling of irresponsibility
  • adjective occurring from time to time
  • adjective without or seeming to be without plan or method; offhand
  • adjective appropriate for ordinary or routine occasions
  • adjective marked by blithe unconcern

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English casuel, due to chance, unpredictable, from Old French, from Latin cāsuālis, from cāsus, event; see case.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

(14th century) from Late Latin cāsuālis ("happening by chance"), from Latin cāsus ("event"), from cadere ("to fall").

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