Definitions.

To explain what spinoza understands by "definition" we need to examine his letters.

In letter 8, de Vries tells Spinoza that the group couldn't agree on what does
Spinoza understand when he say definition.
In Letter 9, (Letter 9, G IV.42�3/ C I.194), Spinoza explain to de Vries what he
understand by "definition":
There are two ways to think about what a definition is.
1.On the one hand, a definition can be a kind of CONVENTION or SETUP about what
something is to mean in a given context, for example, when euclid says that "a
point is that which has no part", he can be read as meaning something like the
following: "for my purposes, this is how i shall understend the term".
On this conception of definition, it makes no sense to ask whether the definition
is true or false. This kind of definition can be purely arbitrary.
2.On the other hand, a definition can indicate the way something really is in
itself (this is the case with definitions of things, as opposed to definitions of
words).
A definition either explains a thing as it is (in itself), outside the intellect or
else it explains a thing as we conceive it or can conceive it
Axioms.
Spinoza also believes that the truth of an axiom is not something that requires
independent proof, but should be evident to any sufficiently attentive mind.
Axiom III. From a given determinate cause the effect follows necessarily;
and, conversely, if there is no determinate cause no
effect can follow.
The second part of this axiom is simply a claim of universal causality: nothing
happens without a determinate cause; there are no spontaneous or uncaused
events.The first part of the axiom represents causal necessitarianism: the
relationship between a cause and its effect is a necessary one. In fact, Spinoza�s
claim here, as we shall see, will turn out to be quite strong. He believes that the
necessity that is found between a cause and its effect is a logical necessity. If x
is the (only) cause of y, then if x occurs it is logically impossible that y not
occur.
Axiom IV. Knowledge of an effect depends on, and involves, knowledge
of its cause. (This axiom plays a crucial role throughout the Ethics, as Spinoza
will go on to claim that obtaining the most perfect knowledge of things in the
world around us � the knowledge that is the key to our well-being � involves
knowing their higher causes in Nature, up to and including God itself.)
For example, water is one of the causes of rain. Rain, among others, depends on
water, both in terms of its being and in terms of the true understanding of it:
there is no being of rain without the prior being of water, and you cannot fully
know what rain is without knowing what water is. The being and knowledge of the e?
ect (rain) depend on the being and the knowledge of the cause (water).
Causes may sometimes be distinguished into two types: necessary and sufficient.A
third type of causation, which requires neither necessity nor sufficiency in and of
itself, but which contributes to the effect, is called a "contributory cause."