Term
/tɜːrm/noun
A word or phrase used to describe something, or a fixed limit or boundary.
Did you know?Latin terminus was not just a word for a boundary—it was also the name of the Roman god of boundary stones, honored in the festival of Terminalia.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ter-
“to cross over, pass through; to extend across”
Latin
Latin
terminus
“a boundary, limit, end; a boundary stone”
Late Latin
Latin
terminus
“a limit or end”
Old French
OF
terme
“a limit, boundary; a word or expression”
Middle English
English
term
“a limit, boundary; a word or expression”
Modern English
English
term
“a word or phrase, or a fixed period or limit”