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Added 9 October 2026

clause

/klɔːz/ noun

Latin root: clausa Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about clause at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

(grammar) an expression including a subject and predicate functioning as a part of a complex sentence.
A separate section of a legal document (as a statute or contract or will).

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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