Main Entry:

¹pause

Pronunciation:

\ˈpȯz\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English, from Latin pausa, from Greek pausis, from pauein to stop

Date:

15th century

1: a temporary stop2 a: a break in a verse b: a brief suspension of the voice to indicate the limits and relations of sentences and their parts3: temporary inaction especially as caused by uncertainty : hesitation4 a: the sign denoting a fermata b: a mark (as a period or comma) used in writing or printing to indicate or correspond to a pause of voice5: a reason or cause for pausing (as to reconsider) <a thought that should give one pause>6: a function of an electronic device that pauses a recording