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comma
8 dictionary results for: Comma
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
com·ma       [kom-uh] Pronunciation Key
–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, esp. 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.
2.Classical Prosody.
a.a fragment or smaller section of a colon.
b.the part of dactylic hexameter beginning or ending with the caesura.
c.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, as Polygonia comma, having a comma-shaped silver mark on the underside of each hind wing.
[Origin: 1520–30; < LL: mark of punctuation, L: division of a phrase < Gk kómma piece cut off (referring to the phrase so marked), equiv. to kop- (base of kóptein to strike, chop) + -ma n. suffix denoting result of action (with assimilation of p)]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
com·ma       (kŏm'ə)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. Grammar A punctuation mark ( , ) used to indicate a separation of ideas or of elements within the structure of a sentence.
  2. A pause or separation; a caesura.
  3. Any of several butterflies of the genus Polygonia, having wings with brownish coloring and irregularly notched edges.


[Latin, from Greek komma, piece cut off, short clause, from koptein, to cut.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
comma 
1586, "short phrase," from L. comma, from Gk. komma "clause in a sentence," lit. "piece which is cut off," from koptein "to cut off," from PIE base *(s)kep- "to cut, split." Like colon, period, a Gk. rhetorical term for part of a sentence which has been transferred to the punctuation mark that identifies it. Used as such in Eng. as a L. word from 1530; nativized by 1599.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
comma

noun
1. a punctuation mark (,) used to indicate the separation of elements within the grammatical structure of a sentence 
2. anglewing butterfly with a comma-shaped mark on the underside of each hind wing 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
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 American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

Comma project
COMputable MAthematics.
An ESPRIT project at KU Nijmegen.
(1994-11-30)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

comma character
"," ASCII character 44. Common names: ITU-T: comma. Rare: ITU-T: cedilla; INTERCAL: tail.
In the C programming language, "," is an operator which evaluates its first argument (which presumably has side-effects) and then returns the value of its second argument. This is useful in "for" statements and macros.
(1995-03-10)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

2. (Mus.) A small interval (the difference between a major and minor half step), seldom used except by tuners.

Comma bacillus (Physiol.), a variety of bacillus shaped like a comma, found in the intestines of patients suffering from cholera. It is considered by some as having a special relation to the disease; -- called also cholera bacillus.

Comma butterfly (Zo["o]l.), an American butterfly (Grapta comma), having a white comma-shaped marking on the under side of the wings.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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