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Definition

noun, plural: terms

(biology)
(1) The end of the normal gestation period or point at which birth is imminent.

(2) The menses, or the periodic discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women.

(mathematics) Any distinct quantity contained in a polynomial.

(logic) Each of the two concepts being compared or related in a proposition.

(general)
(1) A word or phrase, especially one from a specialized area of knowledge, as organism as a biology term.

(2) A limitation, boundary or restriction, especially one that limits the extent of anything.

(3) A duration or period of a set length; a prescribed duration: as in a term of six years, etc.

Supplement

Word origin: Middle English terme < Old French terme < Latin terminus (“‘a bound, boundary, limit, end, in Medieval Latin also a time, period, word, covenant, etc.’”)

Related terms:

• terminal
• terminate
• Hierarchy of terms