lauseke

Lauseke is an Estonian term meaning expression. In Estonian usage and in technical contexts, it denotes a syntactic unit that represents a value, meaning, or substructure within a larger construct.

In mathematics and computer science, an expression is formed from operands (such as numbers, variables, or constants) and operators, and it evaluates to a value. The value may depend on the current bindings of variables and on the language’s evaluation rules and operator precedence. Parentheses are used to override default grouping.

Typical kinds include arithmetic expressions (for example, 3 + 4 * x), logical expressions (a && b), relational expressions (x > y), and function calls (f(x, y)). In programming languages, expressions can be pure or may produce side effects depending on the language.

In linguistics, lauseke can refer to a phrase or sub-sentence unit that does not constitute a full sentence. This includes noun phrases, verb phrases, and other modifier phrases that participate in a larger clause.

Syntax and semantics: expressions are described by formal grammars and parse trees; semantics assigns a value or a meaning to the expression. Some languages implement type systems to ensure expressions are well-formed, while others permit dynamic typing. The distinction between an expression and a statement in programming is that an expression yields a value, whereas a statement performs an action and may not produce a value.

See also: expression, grammar, syntax.