paragraph

n.

1. A distinct division of written or printed matter that begins on a new, usually indented line, consists of one or more sentences, and typically deals with a single thought or topic or quotes one speaker's continuous words.
2. A mark ( ¶ ) used to indicate where a new paragraph should begin or to serve as a reference mark.
3. A brief article, notice, or announcement, as in a newspaper.

tr.v., -graphed, -graph·ing, -graphs.
To divide or arrange into paragraphs.

[Middle English paragraf, from Old French paragrafe, from Medieval Latin paragraphus, from Greek paragraphos, line showing a break in sense or a change of speakers in a dialogue, from paragraphein, to write beside : para-, beside; see para-¹ + graphein, to write.]

paragraphic par'a·graph'ic or par'a·graph'i·cal adj.

(1) In DOS programming, a 16 byte block. Memory addresses are generated as "segment:offset," where the segment is expressed in paragraphs. To compute an address, the segment register is shifted left four bits, which effectively multiplies it by 16. For example, in the address A000:0100, the A000 becomes A0000, as follows:

     Segment    A0000    655,360
     Offset      0100        256
     Result     A0100    655,616

This means there are 4,096 possibilities for expressing each memory byte, a situation that has helped generate confusion.

(2) In word processing and desktop publishing, a collection of words and sentences that contains an end-of-line character (return, line feed or both) at the end of it. From the viewpoint of the software, even a single word followed by a return is a paragraph.

Download Computer Desktop Encyclopedia to your iPhone/iTouch

noun

A usually brief detail of news or information: bit¹, item, piece, squib, story. See words.

In the AIA documents, the first subdivision of an article, identified by two numerals, e.g., 3.3; may be further subdivided into subparagraphs and clauses.

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A basic unit of prose. It is usually composed of several sentences that together develop one central idea. The main sentence in a paragraph is called the topic sentence.

IN BRIEF: A separate section of a piece of writing that deals with a certain point and is made up of one or more sentences: each section begins on a new line that is usually moved in from the margin.

His letter home was only three paragraphs long.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - afsnit, artikel, paragraftegn
v. tr. - skrive notitser, dele i afsnit

Nederlands (Dutch)
alinea, kort krantenbericht, paragraafteken, paragraferen

Français (French)
n. - paragraphe, (Journ) entrefilet, (Imprim) pied de mouche
v. tr. - diviser en paragraphes

Deutsch (German)
n. - Paragraph, Absatz, (Zeitungs)notiz
v. - paragraphieren

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - παράγραφος
v. - χωρίζω σε παραγράφους

Italiano (Italian)
paragrafo, articolo, comma

Português (Portuguese)
n. - parágrafo (m), tópico (m)
v. - paragrafar

Русский (Russian)
абзац, заметка

Español (Spanish)
n. - suelto, apartado, párrafo
v. tr. - dividir en párrafos, escribir o comentar en sueltos o artículos cortos

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - stycke, textavsnitt, tidningsnotis, alinea (tecken för ny rad), paragraf
v. - omnämna (behandla) i notis

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
段, 节, 段落符号, 短评, 短讯, 写短文报导, 将...分段

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 段, 節, 段落符號, 短評, 短訊
v. tr. - 寫短文報導, 將...分段

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 단락, 단편기사
v. tr. - 단락으로 나누다, ~의 기사를 쓰다, 신문 기사거리로 삼다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 段落, 短い記事, 段落記号, 節, 小記事
v. - 段落に分ける

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) فقرة, كلمه أو مقاله قصيرة, علامه (فعل) يقسم إلى فقرات, يفقر, يكتب المقالات القصيرة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮פיסקה, סעיף, סימן לתחילת פיסקה, סימן-פסקה, ידיעה באורך קטע בעיתון‬
v. tr. - ‮חילק לקטעים‬

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