Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
PARAGRAPH
I. noun see: carve
Date: 1525
1. a subdivision of a written composition that consists of one or more sentences, deals with one point or gives the words of one speaker, and begins on a new usually indented line, a short composition or note that is complete in one paragraph, a character (as ¶) used to indicate the beginning of a paragraph and as a reference mark, paragraphic adjective
II. verb
Date: 1764
transitive verb to write paragraphs about, to divide into paragraphs, intransitive verb to write paragraphs