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.
© Webster 1913.
Clause, n. [Obs.] See Letters clause ∨ close, under Letter.
© Webster 1913.