comma

comma
comma 1520s as a Latin word, nativized by 1590s, from L. comma "short phrase," from Gk. komma "clause in a sentence," lit. "piece which is cut off," from koptein "to cut off," from PIE root *kop- "to beat, strike" (see HATCHET (Cf. hatchet)). Like COLON (Cf. colon) (1) and PERIOD (Cf. period), a Greek rhetorical term for part of a sentence which has been transferred to the punctuation mark that identifies it.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • comma — comma …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • comma — [ kɔ(m)ma ] n. m. • 1552; mot lat., gr. komma « membre de phrase », de koptein « couper » ♦ Mus. Intervalle musical, non appréciable pour l oreille, qui sépare deux notes enharmoniques (do dièse et ré bémol, mi dièse et fa). ⊗ HOM. Coma. ● comma… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • comma — There is much variation in the use of the comma in print and in everyday writing. Essentially, its role is to give detail to the structure of sentences, especially longer ones, and to make their meaning clear by marking off words that either do… …   Modern English usage

  • Comma — Com ma, n. [L. comma part of a sentence, comma, Gr. ? clause, fr. ? to cut off. Cf. {Capon}.] 1. A character or point [,] marking the smallest divisions of a sentence, written or printed. [1913 Webster] 2. (Mus.) A small interval (the difference… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Comma — Beschreibung Literatur Zeitschrift Sprache deutsch Erstausgabe April 2002 Einstellung Jan …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • comma — COMMA. s. m. Terme de Musique. Différence du ton majeur au ton mineur.Comma, en terme d Imprimerie, signifie aussi Une espèce de ponctuation qui se marque avec deux points l un sur l autre …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • comma — / kɔm:a/ s.m. [dal lat. comma ătis, gr. kómma, propr. pezzetto, frammento ] (pl. i ). (giur.) [ognuno degli accapo di un articolo di legge] ▶◀ alinea, capoverso, paragrafo …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • comma — ► NOUN 1) a punctuation mark (,) indicating a pause between parts of a sentence or separating items in a list. 2) a butterfly with orange and brown wings and a white comma shaped mark on the underside of the hindwing. ORIGIN Greek komma piece cut …   English terms dictionary

  • comma — [käm′ə] n. [L < Gr komma, clause in a sentence, that which is cut off < koptein, to cut off < IE base * (s)kep , to cut, split > CAPON, SHAFT] 1. a mark of punctuation (,) used to indicate a slight separation of sentence elements, as… …   English World dictionary

  • Comma — For other uses, see Comma (disambiguation). , Comma Punctuation apostrophe …   Wikipedia

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