From Latin 'claudere' (to shut) — originally the closing of a rhetorical period, then a self-contained legal section.
A distinct article or provision in a legal document, treaty, or contract; in grammar, a unit of words containing a subject and predicate.
From Old French 'clause,' from Medieval Latin 'clausa' (conclusion, close of a rhetorical period), from the feminine past participle of Latin 'claudere' (to shut, to close). The PIE root is *klāu- (hook, peg). The original sense was the conclusion or closing of a rhetorical sentence — the point where a thought closes. This evolved into a distinct section of a legal document (each section being a self-contained