comma vs phrase

comma

noun
  • In Ancient Greek rhetoric, a short clause, something less than a colon, originally denoted by comma marks. In antiquity it was defined as a combination of words having no more than eight syllables in all. It was later applied to longer phrases, e.g. the Johannine comma. 

  • A difference in the calculation of nearly identical intervals by different ways. 

  • A brief interval. 

  • The punctuation mark ⟨,⟩ used to indicate a set of parts of a sentence or between elements of a list. 

  • A similar-looking subscript diacritical mark. 

  • Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Polygonia, having a comma-shaped white mark on the underwings, especially Polygonia c-album and Polygonia c-aureum of North Africa, Europe, and Asia. 

  • A delimiting marker between items in a genetic sequence. 

verb
  • To place a comma or commas within text; to follow, precede, or surround a portion of text with commas. 

phrase

noun
  • A short written or spoken expression. 

  • A word or, more commonly, a group of words that functions as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence, usually consisting of a head, or central word, and elaborating words. 

  • A small section of music in a larger piece. 

  • A short individual motion forming part of a choreographed dance. 

verb
  • To perform a passage with the correct phrasing. 

  • To express (an action, thought or idea) by means of particular words. 

  • To divide into melodic phrases. 

How often have the words comma and phrase occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )