English

An emblem of Terminus from 1621

Proper noun

Terminus

1. (Roman mythology) was the god of boundaries and landmarks, focus of the important Roman festival of Terminalia

Derived terms

• term
• terminal
• terminal figure

Related terms

• terminate
• termination

German

Noun

Terminus m

1. term (word or phrase, especially one from a specialised area of knowledge, i.e. a technical term)

Latin

Etymology

From terminus ‎(“a boundary, a limit”).

Proper noun

Terminus

1. the deity presiding over boundaries; a personification of the term terminus ‎(“a boundary, a limit”)

English

Noun

terminus ‎(plural termini or terminuses)

1. The end or final point of something.
2. The end point of a transportation system, or the town or city in which it is located.
3. A boundary or border, or a post or stone marking such a boundary.

Related terms

• terminal
• terminate
• termination
• terminus a quo
• terminus ante quem

Antonyms

• origin

Translations

Anagrams

• runtimes, run times

French

Pronunciation

Noun

terminus m ‎(uncountable)

1. terminus

Latin

Alternative forms

• (uncommon) termen
• (collateral form) termō

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥ ‎(“boundary”), perhaps from *terh₂- ‎(“pass through”). Cognate of Ancient Greek τέρμα ‎(térma, “a goal”) and τέρμων ‎(térmōn, “a border”); perhaps cognate of Sanskrit तरति ‎(tar-, “to overcome”), Latin trāns ‎(“through, across, over”) and intrō ‎(“I enter, I go into”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈter.mi.nus/

Noun

terminus m ‎(genitive terminī); second declension

1. a boundary, limit, end

Inflection

Second declension.

Synonyms

• (boundary, limit): fīnis, līmes, mēta

Derived terms

Related terms

• terminātē
• terminātiō
• terminātor
• terminātus

Descendants

• English: terminus, term
• French: terme
• Italian: termine
• Ladin: terminn, termin
• Old Portuguese: termio
• Polish: termin
  • Russian: те́рмин ‎(términ)
    • Armenian: տերմին ‎(termin)
• Portuguese: término, termo
• Romanian: țărm, termen
• Spanish: término

References

• terminus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• terminus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• TERMINUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “terminus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the empire reaches to the ends of the world: imperium orbis terrarum terminis definitur
    
  • to set bounds to a thing, limit it: terminis circumscribere aliquid
    
• terminus in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• terminus in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray