comma
[ kom-uh ]
/ ˈkɒm ə /
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.
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
Example sentences from the Web for comma
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
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.”