comma

[ kom-uh ]

noun

1. 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 many European countries, as a decimal point.
2. Classical Prosody.
   1. a fragment or smaller section of a colon.
   2. the part of dactylic hexameter beginning or ending with the caesura.
   3. the caesura itself.
3. Music. the minute, virtually unheard difference in pitch between two enharmonic tones, as G♯ and A♭.
4. any of several nymphalid butterflies, including the North American Polygonia comma, having a comma-shaped silver mark on the underside of each hindwing.

comma

/ ˈkɒmə /

noun

1. 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
2. music a minute interval
3. short for comma butterfly

comma

1. 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.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of comma¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Late Latin: “mark of punctuation,” Latin: “division of a phrase,” from Greek kómma “piece cut off” (referring to the phrase so marked), equivalent to kop- (base of kóptein “to cut, gnaw, strike”) + -ma, noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of comma¹

C16: from Latin, from Greek komma clause, from koptein to cut

Example Sentences

I’m a comma, and I get to exist.

From Los Angeles Times

“First you say ‘comma,’ like a comma in a sentence,” said Amara Ajagu.

From Los Angeles Times

The emphasis isn’t on the first part, “comma”; instead, there isn’t any real emphasis at all.

From Slate

Then, it coils itself into a comma, bunching up its lower half.

From New York Times

“He liked to use the Oxford comma,” Westerhout testified.

From Salon