terminal

[tur-muh-nl] /ˈtɜr mə nl/
adjective
1.
situated at or forming the end or extremity of something:
a terminal feature of a vista.
2.
occurring at or forming the end of a series, succession, or the like; closing; concluding.
3.
pertaining to or lasting for a term or definite period; occurring at fixed terms or in every term:
terminal payments.
4.
pertaining to, situated at, or forming the terminus of a railroad.
5.
Botany. growing at the end of a branch or stem, as a bud or inflorescence.
6.
Architecture. noting a figure, as a herm or term, in the form of a bust upon a gaine.
7.
pertaining to or placed at a boundary, as a landmark.
8.
occurring at or causing the end of life:
a terminal disease.
9.
Informal. utterly beyond hope, rescue, or saving:
The undercapitalized project is a terminal problem.
noun
10.
a terminal part of a structure; end or extremity.
11.
Railroads. a major assemblage of station, yard, maintenance, and repair facilities, as at a terminus, at which trains originate or terminate, or at which they are distributed or combined.
12.
Computers. any device for entering information into a computer or receiving information from it, as a keyboard with video display unit, either adjoining the computer or at some distance from it.
13.
a station on the line of a public carrier, as in a city center or at an airport, where passengers embark or disembark and where freight is received or discharged.
14.
Electricity.
  1. the mechanical device by means of which an electric connection to an apparatus is established.
  2. the point of current entry to, or point of current departure from, any conducting component in an electric circuit.
15.
Architecture.
  1. a herm or term.
  2. a carving or the like at the end of something, as a finial.
Origin
1480-90; late Middle English < Latin terminālis, equivalent to termin(us) end, limit + -ālis -al1
Related forms
terminally, adverb
interterminal, adjective
nonterminal, adjective
nonterminally, adverb
preterminal, adjective
subterminal, adjective
subterminally, adverb
Can be confused
terminal, terminus.
Synonyms
1, 2. final, ending, ultimate. 8. fatal, mortal, lethal.
Examples from the web for terminal
  • For millions more, it is the final stage of terminal illness.
  • It will output the sorted results directly in the terminal.
  • Outside a tiny terminal, a fleet of four-wheel-drive taxis waited to ferry tourists down a newly constructed asphalt road to town.
  • Then, after donning his own protective gear, he turns to a computer terminal bolted to the dash of his vehicle.
  • Candidates must have a terminal degree in a relevant social or behavioral science discipline.
  • Nobody likes spending four nights sleeping on the terminal floor.
  • The flowers of this lupine are blue or mostly blue, in dense, terminal racemes.
  • If a terminal bud is removed, the growth of lateral buds is stimulated and the plant becomes bushier.
  • Qualified candidates will have a terminal degree and a solid grounding in student development theory.
  • Tail is brownish with multiple thin, dark bands, often with a slightly wider terminal band.
British Dictionary definitions for terminal

terminal

/ˈtɜːmɪnəl/
adjective
1.
of, being, or situated at an end, terminus, or boundary: a terminal station, terminal buds
2.
of, relating to, or occurring after or in a term: terminal leave
3.
(of a disease) terminating in death: terminal cancer
4.
(informal) extreme: terminal boredom
5.
of or relating to the storage or delivery of freight at a warehouse: a terminal service
noun
6.
a terminating point, part, or place
7.
  1. a point at which current enters or leaves an electrical device, such as a battery or a circuit
  2. a conductor by which current enters or leaves at such a point
8.
(computing) a device having input/output links with a computer but situated at a distance from the computer
9.
(architect)
  1. an ornamental carving at the end of a structure
  2. another name for term (sense 10)
10.
  1. a point or station usually at the end of the line of a railway, serving as an important access point for passengers or freight
  2. a less common name for terminus
11.
a purpose-built reception and departure structure at the terminus of a bus, sea, or air transport route
12.
a site where raw material is unloaded, stored, in some cases reprocessed, and reloaded for further transportation, esp an onshore installation designed to receive offshore oil or gas from tankers or a pipeline
13.
(physiol)
  1. the smallest arteriole before its division into capillaries
  2. either of two veins that collect blood from the thalamus and surrounding structures and empty it into the internal cerebral vein
  3. the portion of a bronchiole just before it subdivides into the air sacs of the lungs
Derived Forms
terminally, adverb
Word Origin
C15: from Latin terminālis, from terminus end
Word Origin and History for terminal
adj.

mid-15c., "relating to or marking boundaries," from Latin terminalis "pertaining to a boundary or end, final," from terminus "end, boundary line" (see terminus). Meaning "fatal" (terminal illness) is first recorded 1891. Sense of "situated at the extreme end of something" is from 1805. Slang meaning "extreme" first recorded 1983.

n.

"end point of a railway line," 1888, from terminal (adj.); sense of "device for communicating with a computer" is first recorded 1954.

terminal in Medicine

terminal ter·mi·nal (tûr'mə-nəl)
adj.

  1. Of, relating to, situated at, or forming a limit, a boundary, an extremity, or an end.

  2. Of, relating to, occurring at, or being the end of a section or series; final.

  3. Causing, ending in, or approaching death; fatal.

terminal in Science
terminal
  (tûr'mə-nəl)   

  1. Electricity

  2. A position in a circuit or device at which a connection can be made or broken. See Note at battery.

  3. Computer Science A device, often equipped with a keyboard and a video display, by which one can read, enter, or manipulate information in a computer system.


Slang definitions & phrases for terminal

terminal

adjective

Extreme; unmitigated: Terminal cuteness is the dread disease of too much Southern writing

[1990s+; based on the medical sense ''fatal, incurable'']


terminal in Technology

1. An electronic or electromechanical device for entering data into a computer or a communications system and displaying data received. Early terminals were called teletypes, later ones VDUs. Typically a terminal communicates with the computer via a serial line.
2. The end of a line where signals are either transmitted or received, or a point along the length of a line where the signals are made available to apparatus.
3. Apparatus to send and/or receive signals on a line.
(1995-10-02)