ˈkämə noun
( -s )
Etymology: Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin, comma (punctuation mark, musical interval) from Latin, part of a sentence, from Greek komma stamp, coinage, clause, from koptein to cut off, stamp — more at capon
1.
a. plural also comma·ta -məd.ə : a short phrase or word group smaller than a colon : a fragment of a few words or feet — used of Greek and Latin prosody or rhetoric
b. obsolete : a clause or short section of a treatise or argument
2.
a. : a punctuation mark, used especially as a mark of separation within the sentence generally indicating a slight pause and appearing either singly to separate two related but distinct terms or in a pair, one at each end of a word, phrase, or clause, which the enclosing commas set off as an entity at the same time emphasizing the coherence of the preceding and following terms
b. commas plural : quotation marks — compare inverted comma
3. : pause , interval
4.
a. : a pause or break in the phrasing of a melodic line
b. : a mark indicating a pause for taking breath
5. : a minute interval or difference in the pitches of the same musical tone occasioned by different systems of tuning — compare ditonic comma , syntonic comma