Karma

Now, the Pali word kamma or the Sanskrit word karma (from the root kr to do) literally means 'action', 'doing'. But in the Buddhist theory of karma it has a specific meaning: it means only 'volitional action', not all action. Nor does it mean the result of karma as many people wrongly and loosely use it. In Buddhist terminology karma never means its effect; its effect is know as the 'fruit' or the 'result' of karma (kamma-phala or kamma-vipaka).

---What the Buddha Taught, by Walpola Rahula---