From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Clause \Clause\, n. [Obs.]
See Letters clause or Letters close, under Letter.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
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The usual attestation clause to a will. --Bouvier.
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2. (Gram.) A subordinate portion or a subdivision of a
sentence containing a subject and its predicate.
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