terminal

I. adjective Etymology: Latin terminalis, from terminus Date: 1744 1. a. of or relating to an end, extremity, boundary, or terminus <

a terminal pillar

> b. growing at the end of a branch or stem <

a terminal bud

> 2. a. of, relating to, or occurring in a term or each term <

terminal payments

> b. (1) leading ultimately to death ; fatal <

terminal cancer

> (2) approaching or close to death ; being in the final stages of a fatal disease <

a terminal patient

> (3) of or relating to patients with a terminal illness <

terminal care

> c. extremely or hopelessly severe <

terminal boredom

> 3. a. occurring at or constituting the end of a period or series ; concluding <

the terminal moments of life

> b. not intended as preparation for further academic work <

a terminal curriculum

> Synonyms: see last • terminally adverb II. noun Date: 1838 1. a part that forms the end ; extremity, termination 2. a terminating usually ornamental detail ; finial 3. a device attached to the end of a wire or cable or to an electrical apparatus for convenience in making connections 4. a. either end of a carrier line having facilities for the handling of freight and passengers b. a freight or passenger station that is central to a considerable area or serves as a junction at any point with other lines c. a town or city at the end of a carrier line ; terminus 5. a combination of a keyboard and output device (as a video display unit) by which data can be entered into or output from a computer or electronic communications system