termination

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English terminacioun,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French terminacion and its source Latin terminātiō (“a marking of boundaries; a bounding, determining”),^[4][3][2][5] a noun of action from terminātus, the past participle of terminō (“to mark the end or boundary”),^[3][6][7] from terminus (“end, limit, boundary”), the source of term.^[3][8] The OED dates the French word to 1272, in the sense "end", and notes that post-classical Latin already used it for the ending of a word, for an ending or conclusion, and for a determination or decision.^[4] Etymonline dates the Old French word to the 13th century.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An authoritative determination or decision; also a statement or declaration: 1395, in a tract against the corruptions of Rome.^[4][3] The Middle English Dictionary also records it in medicine for the end or outcome of an illness.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The sense "decision" died out in the 17th century.^[4][5] From the early 15th century the word meant an outcome or result;^[4] from 1495 it was also the ending of a word, in grammar.^[4] The action of bringing something to an end is recorded from 1514,^[4] and the end of something in time from about 1500.^[4][3] Cawdrey's dictionary (1604) used it for bounding or delimiting, a sense now obsolete.^[4][3] Johnson (1755) listed the act of limiting, a bound or limit, an end or conclusion, and the grammatical sense.^[9] The 20th century added several specific uses, which the sources date differently: an induced abortion, from 1904 in the OED but from 1969 in Etymonline;^[4][3] in chemistry and molecular biology, the end of the growth of a chain molecule (1934);^[4] the killing of an intelligence agent or a contract killing, from 1969 in the OED and 1975 in Etymonline, also in termination with extreme prejudice;^[4][3] and dismissal from a job, chiefly North American, from 1974 in the OED but from 1961 in Etymonline.^[4][3]

Timeline

• 1395 – determination, decision (obsolete by 1671).^[4]
• early 15th century – outcome, result.^[4]
• 1495 – the ending of a word.^[4]
• c. 1500 – end in time, cessation.^[4][3]
• 1514 – the action of putting an end to something.^[4]
• 1604 – bounding, delimiting (obsolete).^[4]
• 1904 – induced abortion.^[4]
• 1934 – chemistry, the end of the growth of a chain molecule.^[4]
• 1961 – end of a person's employment.^[3]
• 1969 – assassination, especially of an intelligence agent.^[4]
• 1974 – dismissal from employment.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of terminating something, or the state of being ended: the termination of the lease.
2. An end or close in time: the termination of hostilities.
3. A final result or outcome.
4. The end point or limit of something in space.
5. (grammar) The ending of a word; a suffix or inflection.
6. An induced abortion.
7. (chiefly North American) Dismissal from a job.

Word family

• terminational
• nontermination

Related words

• terminate
• terminus
• term
• terminal
• determination
• extermination

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.