Where does “term” come from?
term (Dutch) comes from French terme, from English term, from English terminal, from French terminal, from Latin terminalis, from Latin Terminus, from Proto-Indo-European ter-, from Italian termine — boundary, end.
term (Dutch): term; A word or phrase, especially one from a...
Definitions
- term; A word or phrase, especially one from a...
Ancestry of “term”, step by step
term traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French terme
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | terme | only plural: terms; conclusion, end; term |
| 2 | English | term | That which limits the extent of anything; limit,... |
| 3 | English | terminal | A building in an airport where passengers... |
| 4 | French | terminal | terminal |
| 5 | Latin | terminalis | boundary; terminal; final, concluding |
| 6 | Latin | Terminus | the deity presiding over boundaries; a personification of the term terminus |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ter- | tender, weak; young creature |
| 8 | Italian | termine | end, close; limit, term, date, time; term, word |
| 9 | Latin | terminus | a boundary, limit, end |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | termenos | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | térmn̥ | boundary, end |
via Middle Dutch term
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle Dutch | term | — |