Clause (noun)

1. A distinct section of a legal document, such as a contract or will.
2. A separate part of a sentence, typically including a subject and predicate, which functions as a single unit of meaning.
3. A group of words that contains a subject and predicate but does not form a complete sentence.

Origin:

Middle english: from old french cla(u)se, from latin clausula "a closing, a (grammatical) close", from claudere "to close".

Examples:

1. The contract has a clause that allows either party to terminate the agreement with a 30-day notice.
2. The sentence "The dog, which had been sleeping, woke up" contains two clauses "The dog woke up" and "which had been sleeping".
3. The clause "despite the rain" is a dependent clause and can"t form a complete sentence on its own.
4. The clause "because she was tired" is an adverbial clause and explains the reason.
5. The clause "that he had promised" is a noun clause and acts as the object of the verb.