What does clausula mean?
A clausula is the artfully shaped closing section of a sentence or musical phrase — the part that brings it to a satisfying, deliberate end. In classical rhetoric, the term refers to the rhythmically patterned final words of a period, a device Roman orators such as Cicero refined to great effect, since audiences judged a speaker's polish largely by how elegantly each sentence concluded. In music theory, clausula names the cadential melodic figures that mark closure in medieval and Renaissance polyphony, including the famous 'clausula vera,' a two-voice cadence approaching a unison or octave by contrary stepwise motion. The word comes from Latin clausula, a diminutive of clausa ('a closing'), itself derived from claudere, 'to shut' — the same root that gave English 'clause.' Today clausula survives chiefly as a specialist term among classicists, rhetoricians, and early-music scholars, valued for naming precisely what most languages leave unnamed: the craft of the ending.
nounA cadential closing formula at the end of a sentence or phrase; in rhetoric, a rhythmically distinctive concluding passage of a period, especially as cultivated in classical prose, and in music, a melodic figure marking a close in medieval and Renaissance polyphony.
- In rhetoric and classical prose, a rhythmically patterned concluding phrase that gives an artistic close to a sentence or period.
- In music theory, a cadential melodic figure or formula marking a point of closure, particularly in medieval and Renaissance polyphony (as in 'clausula vera').
"The speech owed much of its persuasive force to the carefully wrought clausulae with which Cicero closed each period."
"Medieval composers built entire masses from pre-existing clausulae drawn from chant."
"A well-turned clausula can make even plain prose sound oratorical."
The Latinate plural clausulae is standard in scholarly writing; an anglicized 'clausulas' is occasionally encountered but less accepted.
"The composer reworked several clausulae before settling on the final cadence."
Cicero rehearsed his sentence endings like punchlines — those closers had a name, the clausula, and Roman audiences could hear a lazy one instantly.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of clausula
The word derives directly from Latin clausula, meaning 'a closing' or 'conclusion,' a diminutive formed on clausa ('a closed place, a termination'), which stems from the verb claudere, 'to shut or close.' It entered scholarly English through humanist study of classical rhetoric and medieval music theory. The same Latin root produced the ordinary English word 'clause,' making them true cognates despite their very different modern senses.
Related word forms
How clausula is actually used
A learned, technical term used mainly in rhetoric, classics, and musicology rather than everyday English. It is usually italicized in scholarly writing and its plural is the Latinate clausulae, though anglicized forms are sometimes seen.
Easily confused with clausula
A clause is any grammatical unit containing a subject and predicate within a sentence, whereas a clausula is specifically the stylized rhythmic or musical closing formula of a sentence or phrase.