clause

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Grammar A group of words containing a subject and a predicate and forming part of a compound or complex sentence.
2. n. A distinct article, stipulation, or provision in a document.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. Any part of a written composition, especially one containing complete sense in itself, as a sentence or paragraph: in modern use commonly limited to such parts of legal documents, as of statutes, contracts, wills, etc. In law, the usual meaning is some collocation of words the removal of which from the instrument will leave the rest of it intelligible. It is not essential to the idea of a clause that it must itself be capable of being read as a document if taken alone.
2. n. A distinct stipulation, condition, proviso, etc.: as, a special clause in a contract.
3. n. In grammar, one of the lesser sentences which united and modified form a compound or complex sentence. A clause differs from a phrase in containing both a subject and its predicate, while a phrase is a group of two or more words not containing both these essential elements of a simple sentence. The principal clause is that member of a complex sentence on which others, called dependent or subordinate clauses, depend. The members of a compound sentence are coordinate clauses. Principal and coördinate clauses separated from the remainder of the sentence can by omission of connectives (conjunctions or relatives), and addition, if necessary, of words from other clauses, resume the form of simple sentences. Dependent clauses often require further changes of mood, tense, and person to become independent sentences.
4. n. That part of a bond which defines the amount of the penalty.

Wiktionary

1. n. this sense?) (grammar, informal) A group of two or more words which include a subject and any necessary predicate (the predicate also includes a verb, conjunction, or a preposition) to begin the clause; however, this clause is not considered a sentence for colloquial purposes.
2. n. grammar A verb along with its subject and their modifiers. If a clause provides a complete thought on its own, then it is an independent (superordinate) clause; otherwise, it is (subordinate) dependent.
3. n. law A separate part of a contract, a will or another legal document.
4. v. transitive, shipping To amend (a bill of lading or similar document).

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A separate portion of a written paper, paragraph, or sentence; an article, stipulation, or proviso, in a legal document.
2. n. (Gram.) A subordinate portion or a subdivision of a sentence containing a subject and its predicate.
3. n. See Letters clause or Letters close, under letter.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. (grammar) an expression including a subject and predicate but not constituting a complete sentence
2. n. a separate section of a legal document (as a statute or contract or will)