Dictionary entry

Clause

Webster's Dictionary 1913

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.