clause

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English clause, claus, borrowed from Old French clause, from Medieval Latin clausa (Latin diminutive clausula (“close, end; a clause, close of a period”)), from Latin clausus, past participle of claudere (“to shut, close”). See close, its doublet. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /klɔːz/ (Standard Southern British, General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /kloːz/ (US) (without the cot–caught merger) IPA(key): /klɔz/ (cot–caught merger) IPA(key): /klɑz/ (Scotland) IPA(key): /klɔz/, [klɔːz] Homophone: claws Rhymes: -ɔːz === Noun === clause (plural clauses) (grammar) A group of words that contains a subject and a verb; it may be part of a sentence or may constitute the whole sentence, depending on the syntax in each instance. Near-synonyms: sentential, sentence (grammar) A verb, its necessary grammatical arguments, and any adjuncts affecting them. (grammar) A verb along with its subject and their modifiers. If a clause provides a complete thought on its own, then it is an independent (superordinate) clause; otherwise, it is dependent (subordinate). (Independent clauses can be sentences; they can also be part of a sentence. Dependent clauses can only be part of a sentence.) Hyponyms: main clause, independent clause; subordinate clause, dependent clause, embedded clause; and hyponyms thereof (law) A distinct part of a contract, a will or another legal document. (databases) A constituent (component) of a statement or query. ==== Usage notes ==== In the sentence “When it got dark, they went back into the house”, “When it got dark” is a dependent clause within the complete sentence. The independent clause “they went back into the house” could stand alone as a sentence, whereas the dependent clause could not. ==== Hyponyms ==== ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== close ==== Translations ==== === Verb === clause (third-person singular simple present clauses, present participle clausing, simple past and past participle claused) (transitive, shipping) To amend (a bill of lading or similar document). ==== Further reading ==== “clause”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “clause”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. === Anagrams === Caelus, secula == French == === Etymology === From Old French clause, borrowed from Medieval Latin clausa. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /kloz/ === Noun === clause f (plural clauses) clause === Further reading === “clause”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Latin == === Participle === clause vocative masculine singular of clausus == Middle English == === Alternative forms === clawse, claus === Etymology === From Old French clause, from Medieval Latin clausa. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈklau̯z(ə)/ === Noun === clause (plural clauses) sentence, clause statement, line (of a text) writing, text, document, letter A section or portion of a text; a part of a series of quotes (law) A clause, term, or consideration; a section in a legal document. ==== Descendants ==== English: clause ==== References ==== “clause, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 23 April 2018.