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term

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: -term and Term

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *terh₂-?
Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥
Proto-Indo-European *ter-?
Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥
Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥
Proto-Italic *termn̥
Proto-Indo-European *-nós
Proto-Italic *-nos
Proto-Italic *term(e)nos
Latin terminus
Old French termebor.
Middle English terme
English term

    From Middle English terme, borrowed from Old French terme, from Latin terminus (“a bound, boundary, limit, end; in Medieval Latin, also a time, period, word, covenant, etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥ (“stump, end, boundary”).

    Doublet of terminus and termon. Old English had termen, from the same source.

    Noun

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    term (plural terms)

    2. (original meaning, by derivation) That which limits the extent of anything; limit, extremity, bound, boundary, terminus.
      • 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
        Corruption is a reciprocal to generation, and they two are as nature's two terms, or boundaries.
      • 1817 December, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Revolt of Islam. […]”, in [Mary] Shelley, editor, The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 268:
        At the decline of day,
        Winding above the mountain’s snowy term,
        New banners shone: […]
    3. A condition or restriction.
      2. (often in plural) Any of the binding conditions or promises in a contract or agreement.
        Be sure to read the terms and conditions before signing.
        Alright, look...we can spend the holidays with your parents, but this time it will be on my terms.
      4. (in the plural) Specifically, the conditions in a legal contract that specify the price and also how and when payment must be made.
        Q: What are your company's terms? A: Net thirty, cash or check. [This answer means that the net total must be paid within 30 days; see Net D.]
        The latest models are available now, on the lowest terms you'll find anywhere, guaranteed.
        • 1793 May 17, John Constable and James Piper, advertisement for a packet-boat between Chestertown and Baltimore, Chestertown, Maryland, File:Packet_Schooner.jpg:
          The Cabin is large and commodious, well calculated for the Accommodation of Paſengers. Merchandiſe, Produce, &c. carried on the loweſt Terms.
    4. A chronological limitation or division.
      2. A limited or defined timespan.
        The term of a lease agreement is the period of time during which the lease is effective, and may be fixed, periodic, or of indefinite duration.
        He was sentenced to a term of six years in prison.
        The term allowed to a debtor to discharge his debt.
        near-term, mid-term and long-term goals
      4. Duration of officeholding, or its limit; period in office of fixed length.
        The president is almost half way through his term.
        • 2023 October 22, Ruth Michaelson, quoting Ehud Barak, “Netanyahu told to ‘quit now’ as ex-leaders pin blame on dysfunctional government”, in The Observer‎[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 11 October 2026:
          “I don’t believe that the people trust Netanyahu to lead when he is under the burden of such a devastating event that just happened under his term,” he told the Observer.
        • 2026 July 27, Daniel Rugunya, quoting Donald J. Trump, “Donald Trump Jokes About ‘Running For A Fourth Term’ At Rescheduled WHCD”, in Yahoo‎[2], archived from the original on 8 August 2026:
          "To show just how much I care about the press, and because I want to save your ratings, I'm pleased to announce my intention to run for a fourth term as President of the United States," Trump told the audience.
      5. The time during which legal courts are open.
      6. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) Certain days on which rent is paid.
      8. Part of a year, especially one of the divisions of an academic year.
        At our school, sports day was always held at the end of the summer term.
        • 1983, Bill Oddie, Gone Birding, London: Methuen, page 45:
          From 1960 to 1963 I spent my terms at Cambridge University but was back home for the vacs[.]
          #
        • Part of a year, especially one of the divisions of an academic year.
        • 1983, Bill Oddie, Gone Birding, London: Methuen, page 45:
          From 1960 to 1963 I spent my terms at Cambridge University but was back home for the vacs[.]
      10. With respect to a pregnancy, the usual duration of gestation for the given species (for example, nine months in humans); (metonymic) the end of this duration: the timepoint at which birth usually happens (for example, in humans, approximately 40 weeks from conception), defining the due date.
        A pregnancy didn't come to term.
        at term;   preterm;   postterm
      12. (archaic) A menstrual period.
        • 1660, Samuel Pepys, Diary:
          My wife, after the absence of her terms for seven weeks, gave me hopes of her being with child, but on the last day of the year she hath them again.
      14. (of a patent) The maximum period during which the patent can be maintained into force.
    6. (in the plural, usually in phrases such as on good terms and similar) Relations among people.
      We are on friendly terms with each other.
      • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XLIV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 361:
        Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part. […] Next day she […] tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head. Then, thwarted, the wretched creature went to the police for help; she was versed in the law, and perhaps had spared no pains to keep on good terms with the local constabulary.
    7. A unit or component with a certain meaning.
      2. A word or phrase (e.g., noun phrase, verb phrase, open compound), especially one from a specialised area of knowledge; a name for a concept.
        "Algorithm" is a term used in computer science.
        The noun phrase "red blood cell", the acronym "RBC", and the word "erythrocyte" are synonymous terms.
      3. (in the plural) A stated kind of language or terminology.
        Could you explain that in layman's terms?
        I told her in no uncertain terms that it was none of her business.
      5. (mathematics) Any value (variable or constant) or expression separated from another term by a space or an appropriate character, in an overall expression or table.
        All the terms of this sum cancel out.
        One only term is odd in ( 12; 3; 4 ).
      7. (logic) The subject or the predicate of a proposition; one of the three component parts of a syllogism, each one of which is used twice.
    9. (astrology) An essential dignity in which unequal segments of every astrological sign have internal rulerships which affect the power and integrity of each planet in a natal chart.
    11. (geometry, archaic) A point, line, or superficies that limits.
      A line is the term of a superficies, and a superficies is the term of a solid.
    13. (art) A statue of the upper body, sometimes without the arms, ending in a pillar or pedestal. [from 17th c.]
    15. (nautical) A piece of carved work placed under each end of the taffrail.
    Hyponyms
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    Derived terms
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    Translations
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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked
    See also
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    Verb

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    term (third-person singular simple present terms, present participle terming, simple past and past participle termed)

    1. (transitive) To phrase a certain way; to name or call.
      • 1867, Charles Sanders Peirce, On a New List of Categories:
        Abstraction or prescision ought to be carefully distinguished from two other modes of mental separation, which may be termed discrimination and dissociation.
      • 1969 April, Marcia M. Eaton, “Art, Artifacts, and Intentions”, in American Philosophical Quarterly, volume 6, number 2, →JSTOR, page 165:
        Can a monkey’s random typewriter pickings, if they result in a syntactically and semantically meaningful arrangement of words, be correctly termed a novel?
      • 2013 September-October, Henry Petroski, “The Evolution of Eyeglasses”, in American Scientist:
        The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone, essentially what today we might term a frameless magnifying glass or plain glass paperweight.
    Synonyms
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    Adjective

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    term (not comparable)

    1. (medicine, colloquial) Born or delivered at term.
      term neonate

    References

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    Etymology 2

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      Clipping of terminal.

      Noun

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      term (plural terms)

      1. (computing, informal) A computer program that emulates a physical terminal.

      Etymology 3

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        Short for terminate, termination, terminated employee, etc.

        Verb

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        term (third-person singular simple present terms, present participle terming, simple past and past participle termed)

        1. (ambitransitive, informal) To terminate someone's employment.
        2. (transitive, informal, of an online moderator) To delete someone's account.
        Synonyms
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        Noun

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        term (plural terms)

        1. One whose employment has been terminated

        Further reading

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        Albanian

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        Etymology

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        From ter.

        Noun

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        term m (plural terma, definite terma, definite plural termat)

        1. foundation, plot of land
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        Chinese

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        Pronunciation

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        Etymology 1

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        From English term.

        Noun

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        term

        1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) term (word or phrase)
        2. (Hong Kong Cantonese) term (timespan)

        Etymology 2

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        From clipping of English terminate.

        Verb

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        term

        1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to terminate
        2. (Hong Kong Cantonese, university slang, passive voice) to have one's study be terminated

        References

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        Dutch

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        Etymology

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        From Middle Dutch term, from Old French terme, from Latin terminus.

        Pronunciation

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        Noun

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        term m (plural termen, diminutive termpje n)

        1. term; a word or phrase, especially one from a specialised area of knowledge
        2. (mathematics) term; one of the addends in a sum

        Derived terms

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        Descendants

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        • → Indonesian: term

        Anagrams

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        Indonesian

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        Etymology

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        From Dutch term, from French terme, from Old French terme, from Latin terminus (“a bound, boundary, limit, end; in Medieval Latin, also a time, period, word, covenant, etc.”).

        Pronunciation

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        Noun

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        tèrm (plural term-term)

        1. (linguistics, rare) synonym of istilah (“term, of word etc.”)
        2. (logic) term (the subject or the predicate of a proposition)
        3. (rare) term (duration of a set length, period in office of fixed length)
          Synonyms: jangka, masa, momen, saat
        4. term (part of a year, especially one of the three parts of an academic year)

        Alternative forms

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        Further reading

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        Norwegian Bokmål

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        Etymology

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        From Latin terminus, via French terme and English term.

        Noun

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        term m (definite singular termen, indefinite plural termer, definite plural termene)

        1. a term (word or phrase)

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        Norwegian Nynorsk

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        Etymology

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        From Latin terminus, via French terme and English term.

        Noun

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        term m (definite singular termen, indefinite plural termar, definite plural termane)

        1. a term (word or phrase)

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        Polish

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        Pronunciation

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        • IPA(key): /ˈtɛrm/
        • Rhymes: -ɛrm
        • Syllabification: term

        Etymology 1

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          See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

          Noun

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          term f

          1. genitive plural of terma

          Etymology 2

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            See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

            Noun

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            term nvir pl

            1. genitive plural of termy

            Swedish

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            Pronunciation

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            Etymology 1

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            This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
            Particularly: “likely from Old French terme, from Latin terminus”

            Noun

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            term c

            1. a term[1] (a well-defined word or phrase, in a terminology)
            2. (mathematics) a term[2] (an operand in addition or subtraction)

            Etymology 2

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            This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
            Particularly: “likely from Latin thermae”

            Noun

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            term c

            1. singular of termer (“thermae, Roman baths”) (a facility for bathing in ancient Rome)

            Declension

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            Declension of term
            nominative genitive
            singular indefinite term terms
            definite termen termens
            plural indefinite termer termers
            definite termerna termernas
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            References

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            1. ^ term in Rikstermbanken
            2. ^ term in Rikstermbanken
            Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=term&oldid=95420174"