clause   (klôz)    n.   Grammar A group of words containing a subject and a predicate and forming part of a compound or complex sentence. A distinct article, stipulation, or provision in a document. [Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin clausa, close of a rhetorical period, from feminine of Latin clausus, past participle of claudere, to close.] claus'al (klô'zəl) adj.

Clause

Clause\, n. [F. clause, LL. clausa, equiv. to L. clausula clause, prop., close of ? rhetorical period, close, fr. claudere to shut, to end. See Close.]

1. A separate portion of a written paper, paragraph, or sentence; an article, stipulation, or proviso, in a legal document.

The usual attestation clause to a will. --Bouvier.

2. (Gram.) A subordinate portion or a subdivision of a sentence containing a subject and its predicate.

clause

A group of words in a sentence that contains a subject and predicate. (See dependent clause and independent clause.)

clause 

Main Entry: clause
Pronunciation: 'kloz
Function: noun
: a distinct section of a writing; specifically : a distinct article, stipulation, or proviso in a formal document clause in the collective bargaining agreement> —claus·al /'klo-z&l/ adjective

clause
1. A logical formula in conjunctive normal form, which has the schema
p1 ^ ...^ pm => q1 V ... V qn.
or, equivalently,
~p1 V ... V ~pn V q1 V ... V qn,
where pi and qi are atoms.
The operators ~, ^, V, => are connectives, where ~ stands for negation, ^ for conjunction, V for disjunction and => for implication.
2. A part of a sentence (or programming language statement) that does not constitute a full sentence, e.g. an adjectival clause in human language or a WHERE clause in a SQL statement.
(2004-05-28)