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comma
[ kom-uh ]
/ ˈkɒm ə /
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Definition of comma
noun
the sign (,), a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, especially when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence. It is also used to separate items in a list, to mark off thousands in numerals, to separate types or levels of information in bibliographic and other data, and, in Europe, as a decimal point.
Classical Prosody.
- a fragment or smaller section of a colon.
- the part of dactylic hexameter beginning or ending with the caesura.
- the caesura itself.
Music. the minute, virtually unheard difference in pitch between two enharmonic tones, as G♯ and A♭.
any of several nymphalid butterflies, as Polygonia comma, having a comma-shaped silver mark on the underside of each hind wing.
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Origin of comma
1520–30; <Late Latin: mark of punctuation, Latin: division of a phrase <Greek kómma piece cut off (referring to the phrase so marked), equivalent to kop- (base of kóptein to strike, chop) + -ma noun suffix denoting result of action (with assimilation of p)
Words nearby comma
comity, comity of nations, comix, coml., comm., comma, comma bacillus, comma butterfly, Commack, comma fault, Commager
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use comma in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for comma
comma
/ (ˈkɒmə) /
noun
the punctuation mark(,) indicating a slight pause in the spoken sentence and used where there is a listing of items or to separate a nonrestrictive clause or phrase from a main clause
music a minute interval
short for comma butterfly
Word Origin for comma
C16: from Latin, from Greek komma clause, from koptein to cut
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
Cultural definitions for comma
comma
A punctuation mark (,) used to indicate pauses and to separate elements within a sentence. “The forest abounds with oak, elm, and beech trees”; “The bassoon player was born in Roanoke, Virginia, on December 29, 1957.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.