terminus English · revision 913
11 Oct 2026, 02:18 by bogdan “New entry from the dictionary sources (AHD, Barnhart, Etymonline, MW, OED, RHWU, Wiktionary)” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈtɜː.mɪ.nəs/ ''(UK)''; /ˈtɝ.mə.nəs/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[bor|la|terminus|t=boundary, limit, end]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from the Proto-Indo-European root ''*ter-'' “peg, post, boundary marker”.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[term]], [[terminal]] and [[determine]].^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A goal, end or finishing point (before 1617);^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) the OED also has a mathematical sense, a term (1571), now obsolete.^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ In ancient Rome, Terminus was the god of boundaries and landmarks, and the word was used in English for him (1600) and for a statue or bust of the kind that marked boundaries (1645).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) Learned phrases such as ''terminus a quo'' “starting point” go back to the 16th century.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The meaning “either end of a railway line”, or the station or town there, dates from 1836,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) and was extended to bus and tram routes.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1571 – in mathematics, a term (obsolete).^(OED 1989)
+ * 1600 – the Roman god of boundaries.^(OED 1989)
+ * before 1617 – a goal, end point.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1673 – a boundary, limit.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1836 – the end of a railway line.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # Either end of a railway, bus or other transport line, or the station or town there.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # The final point; the end or goal.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A boundary, or a post or stone marking one.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # An extreme point, as the end of a [[glacier]].^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[terminal]]
+ * [[terminate]]
+ * [[termination]]
+ * [[terminus a quo]]
+ * [[terminus ad quem]]
+ * [[term]]
+ * [[determine]]
+ * [[exterminate]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}