Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
PHRASE
I. noun
Etymology: Latin phrasis, from Greek, from phrazein to point out, explain, tell
Date: 1530
a characteristic manner or style of expression ; diction ,
2. a brief expression, word , a short musical thought typically two to four measures long closing with a cadence, a word or group of words forming a syntactic constituent with a single grammatical function , a series of dance movements comprising a section of a pattern,
II. transitive verb (phrased; phrasing)
Date: 1570
1. to express in words or in appropriate or telling terms, to designate by a descriptive word or phrase, to divide into melodic phrases