clause

[klawz]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR clause ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Grammar. a syntactic construction containing a subject and predicate and forming part of a sentence or constituting a whole simple sentence.

a distinct article or provision in a contract, treaty, will, or other formal or legal written document.

Origin of clause

1175–1225; Middle English claus(e) (< Anglo-French) < Medieval Latin clausa, back formation from Latin clausula clausula

Related formsclaus·al, adjectivesub·claus·al, adjectivesub·clause, noun

Can be confusedclause claws

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for clauses

requirement, section, passage, article, stipulation, provision, specification, paragraph, chapter, limitation, proviso, codicil, point, heading, joker, item, part, kicker, catch, ultimatum

Examples from the Web for clauses

Contemporary Examples of clauses

Senhor José remains stationary, but this lengthy series of clauses propels the reader along an unmarked path.
The Lost Novel of Nobel-Winner José Saramago
Charles Shafaieh
January 5, 2015
Italy and Greece both have clauses under which women can give birth anonymously.
Europe’s Growing Crisis of Abandoned Babies
Barbie Latza Nadeau
July 11, 2012
Ted had a similar compact with John Kennedy: Be direct, and to the point; use short words and clauses; aim for clarity.
JFK’s Intellectual Remembered
Bill Moyers
December 10, 2010

Historical Examples of clauses

Perhaps you would like to become acquainted with some clauses in it.
A Comedy of Marriage and Other Tales
Guy De Maupassant
"The joining together two clauses with a third," etc.; read, "of two clauses," etc.
The Verbalist
Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres)
Select the clauses of the first part that are equal in rank and have the same Shading.
The Ontario High School Reader
A.E. Marty
These deal with the relative importance of words, phrases, or clauses.
The Ontario High School Reader
A.E. Marty
What clauses in this paragraph are really parenthetical in force?
The Ontario High School Reader
A.E. Marty

British Dictionary definitions for clauses

clause

noun

grammar a group of words, consisting of a subject and a predicate including a finite verb, that does not necessarily constitute a sentenceSee also main clause, subordinate clause, coordinate clause

a section of a legal document such as a contract, will, or draft statute

Derived Formsclausal, adjective

Word Origin for clause

C13: from Old French, from Medieval Latin clausa a closing (of a rhetorical period), back formation from Latin clausula, from claudere to close

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for clauses

clause

c.1200, "a sentence, a brief statement, a short passage," from Old French clause "stipulation" (in a legal document), 12c., from Medieval Latin clausa "conclusion," used in the sense of classical Latin clausula "the end, a closing, termination," also "end of a sentence or a legal argument," from clausa, fem. noun from past participle of claudere "to close, to shut, to conclude" (see close (v.)). Grammatical sense is from c.1300. Legal meaning "distinct condition, stipulation, or proviso" is recorded from late 14c. in English. The sense of "ending" seems to have fallen from the word between Latin and French.

clauses in Culture

clause

A group of words in a sentence that contains a subject and predicate. (See dependent clause and independent clause.)