- comma
- 1586, "short phrase," from L. comma, from Gk. komma "clause in a sentence," lit. "piece which is cut off," from koptein "to cut off," from PIE base *(s)kep- "to cut, split." Like colon, period, a Gk. rhetorical term for part of a sentence which has been transferred to the punctuation mark that identifies it. Used as such in Eng. as a L. word from 1530; nativized by 1599.
- virgule
- thin sloping line, used as a comma in medieval MSS, 1837, from Fr. virgule, from L. virgula "punctuation mark," lit. "little twig," dim. of virga "shoot, rod, stick." The word had been borrowed in its L. form in 1728.