semicolon (thing)

The semicolon is a little period sitting on top of a comma. The name 'semicolon' is politically incorrect because it implies that the ; is in some way weaker or insubstantial than the full : colon. However, anybody with sense can see that the "semicolon" is usually bigger than the colon, which is merely two dots.

In English, the semicolon has two major uses:

• For lists whose constituents contain commas themselves: They saluted all three in turn: the old, familiar tricolor; the red, white, and blue; and the brightly colored Tigger flag.
• For joining independent clauses, instead of sundering them with a period or coordinating them with a conjunction: I don't drink tea; it's unpatriotic.

In Greek, the semicolon is a question mark--that is, not that they use a ? where we use a ;, but that they use a ; where we use a ?. Understand;