comma
UK[ˈkɒmə]US[ˈkɑːmə]
n
A punctuation mark (,) indicating a pause between parts of a sentence or separating items in a list.
Etymology
The word 'comma' originates from the Greek 'kómma', which meant 'a piece cut off' or 'a short clause', derived from the verb 'kóptein', meaning 'to cut'. This was borrowed into Latin as 'comma', retaining the sense of a short phrase or a segment of a sentence. In the 16th century, English adopted the term from Latin, and its meaning shifted from the clause itself to the punctuation mark—initially a virgule (/) and later the curved mark (,) we use today—that serves to 'cut' or separate those syntactic units in writing.
Analysis
This word is a simplex loanword from Latin. It is not productively formed from smaller, meaningful morphemes in modern English.
Examples
Please add a comma after the introductory phrase.
In the list, separate each item with a comma.
The absence of a comma completely changed the sentence's meaning.