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Phrase

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Legal, Idioms, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
phrase
1. Music a small group of notes forming a coherent unit of melody
2. (in choreography) a short sequence of dance movements
Phrase 

the basic unit of speech. Corresponding to the sentence as a basic unit of language, the phrase is a syntactic and phonetic entity with syntactic structure, semantic completeness, and intonational markers. Phrase boundaries are indicated by pauses and by specific intonational features that indicate the end of the phrase. For example, in Russian there is a lowering of tone on the final syllable of a phrase. Phrases are divided into syntagms, which in turn consist of phonetic words and syllables. The laws of the phrase’s sandhi, that is, of the phonetic boundaries of the phrase’s components, function within the phrase. An example is liaison in French—a type of consonant alternation.

The concept of the phrase is sometimes synonymous with that of the sentence. The term “phrase” is occasionally used to designate any phonetic and syntactic entity between two pauses.
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Previous to this, the earliest-known use of the phrase occurred in the pamphlet, "Ye Slaves," written by George Milford and published in December, 1912.
The Iron Heel by London, Jack View in context
A Sentence or Phrase is a composite significant sound, some at least of whose parts are in themselves significant; for not every such group of words consists of verbs and nouns--'the definition of man,' for example - -but it may dispense even with the verb.
The Poetics of Aristotle by Aristotle View in context
The Jury all cheered, though the Judge said he feared That the phrase was not legally sound.
The Hunting of the Snark by Carroll, Lewis View in context
 
 
 
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