punctuation definition

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin punctuātiō (“a marking with points, a writing, agreement”), from punctuō (“to mark with points, settle”). Morphologically, punctuate +‎ -ion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʌŋk.t͡ʃuˈeɪ.ʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

punctuation (countable and uncountable, plural punctuations)

1. A set of symbols and marks which are used to clarify meaning in text by separating strings of words into clauses, phrases and sentences; examples include commas, hyphens, and stops (periods).

   Different languages have different rules for punctuation.

2. An act of punctuating.

Meronyms

• see an extensive list of such marks at Thesaurus:punctuation mark

Derived terms

Related terms

• point
• punctilious
• punctuate
• punctual
• punctuality

Punctuation

Translations

Further reading

• “punctuation”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “punctuation”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.