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semicolon

sem·i·co·lon
S s

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [sem-i-koh-luh n]
    • /ˈsɛm ɪˌkoʊ lən/
    • /ˌsem.iˈkəʊ.lɒn/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [sem-i-koh-luh n]
    • /ˈsɛm ɪˌkoʊ lən/

Definitions of semicolon word

  • noun semicolon the punctuation mark (;) used to indicate a major division in a sentence where a more distinct separation is felt between clauses or items on a list than is indicated by a comma, as between the two clauses of a compound sentence. 1
  • noun semicolon punctuation mark ; 1
  • countable noun semicolon A semicolon is the punctuation mark ; which is used in writing to separate different parts of a sentence or list or to indicate a pause. 0
  • noun semicolon the punctuation mark (;) used to indicate a pause intermediate in value or length between that of a comma and that of a full stop 0
  • noun semicolon a mark of punctuation (;) indicating a degree of separation greater than that marked by the comma and less than that marked by the period: used chiefly to separate units that contain elements separated by commas, and to separate closely related coordinate clauses 0
See all 5 definitions of semicolon

Information block about the term

Origin of semicolon

First appearance:

before 1635
One of the 43% oldest English words
First recorded in 1635-45; semi- + colon1

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Semicolon

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Semicolon

semicolon popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 75% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

semicolon usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

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Related words

  • comma fault

    the use of a comma, rather than a semicolon, colon, or period, to separate related main clauses in the absence of a coordinating conjunction: often considered to be incorrect or undesirable, especially in formal writing.

  • home row

    (in touch typing) the row on a typewriter or computer keyboard that contains the keys (home keys) to which four fingers of each hand return as a base, on a QWERTY keyboard being A, S, D, and F for the left hand and J, K, L, and the semicolon for the right.

  • punctuation mark

    any of a group of conventional marks or characters used in punctuation, as the period, comma, semicolon, question mark, or dash.

  • run-on sentence

    a written sequence of two or more main clauses that are not separated by a period or semicolon or joined by a conjunction.

  • unshifted

    (of a keyboard shift key) not pressed or activated.
All related words to semicolon

See also

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