Webster's English Dictionary

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pause

1. pause \'po.z\ n [ME, fr. L pausa, fr. Gk pausis, fr. pauein to stop; 
   akin to]Gk paula rest 1: a temporary stop  2a: a break in a verse (as a 
   caesura or interval)  2b: a brief suspension of the voice to indicate the 
   limits and relations of  sentences and their parts 3: temporary inaction 
   esp. as caused by uncertainty  4a: the sign denoting a fermata  4b: a mark 
   (as a period or comma) used in writing or printing to indicate o r 
   correspond to a pause of voice 5: a reason or cause for pausing {give ~} 
2. pause vi 1: to stop temporarily  2: to linger for a time