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paragraph

noun

  1. a portion of text composed of one or more sentences
L1358 on Wikidata ↗

verb

  1. write paragraphs
  2. divide into paragraphs
L332461 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈpæɹəɡɹɑːf/ / /ˈpæɹəɡɹæf/ / /ˈpɛɹəɡɹæf/

noun

Etymology: From Middle English paragraf, from Middle French paragraphe from Latin paragraphus (“sign for start of a new section of discourse”), from Ancient Greek παράγραφος (parágraphos), from παρά (pará, “beside”) and γράφω (gráphō, “to write”). Doublet of paragraphos.

  1. A passage in text that starts on a new line, the first line sometimes being indented, and usually marks a change of topic.

    opening paragraph

    final paragraph

  2. A mark or note set in the margin to call attention to something in the text, such as a change of subject.
  3. A brief article, notice, or announcement, as in a newspaper.

    Much of its earliest foreign news came direct from the minister, and not seldom in his own hand. Louis XIII. took a keen, perhaps a somewhat childish, interest in the progress of the infant Gazette, and was a frequent contributor, now and then taking his little paragraphs to the printing office himself, and seeing them put into type.

  4. An offset of 16 bytes in Intel memory architectures.

verb

Etymology: From Middle English paragraf, from Middle French paragraphe from Latin paragraphus (“sign for start of a new section of discourse”), from Ancient Greek παράγραφος (parágraphos), from παρά (pará, “beside”) and γράφω (gráphō, “to write”). Doublet of paragraphos.

  1. To sort text into paragraphs.
  2. To publish a brief article, notice, or announcement, as in a newspaper.