terminus

1 a place where something ends or is complete [syn: end point, endpoint, termination]

2 the ultimate goal for which something is done [syn: destination]

3 (architecture) a statue or a human bust or an animal carved out of the top of a square pillar; originally used as a boundary marker in ancient Rome [syn: terminal figure, term]

4 either end of a railroad or bus route

5 station where transport vehicles load or unload passengers or goods [syn: terminal, depot] [also: termini (pl)]

English

Etymology

terminus "boundary", "limit". From the god Terminus who presided over boundaries.

Noun

1. The end or final point of something.
2. The end point of a transportation system, or the town or city in which it is located.
3. A boundary or border, or a post or stone marking such a boundary.

Related terms

• terminate
• terminations
• terminus a quo
• terminus ante quem

Latin

Noun

terminus (nominative, s)

1. boundary, limit, end

Terminus is a Latin word that literally means boundary stone but can refer to:

• Terminal station, a bus or rail station acting as an end destination
• Terminus (mythology), a Roman god
  • Jupiter (god) (also known by this name)
• Atlanta, Georgia, which was originally called Terminus
  • Terminus (building), a skyscraper in Atlanta
• Glacier terminus
• Terminus (planet), the home planet of the Foundation in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series
• Terminus (poem) is a poem written by Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Terminus (computer game), a space-flight role-playing/action game by Vicarious Visions
• Terminus: The Prison Planet, an earlier computer maze game by Mastertronic
• Terminus (Doctor Who), a serial in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who
• Terminus (comics), is a fictional comic book character in the Marvel Universe
• Terminus (film), a 1961 film
• Terminus (1987 film), a 1987 film
• Terminus (typeface)

See also

• Terminal

L, Z, anchorage, apodosis, border line, bound, boundary, boundary condition, boundary line, bourn, branch, break boundary, breakoff point, cable railway, catastrophe, cease, ceasing, ceiling, cessation, circumscription, close, coda, cog railway, compass, completing, completion, conclusion, confine, consummation, crack of doom, culmination, curtain, curtains, cutoff, cutoff point, deadline, death, decease, delimitation, denouement, desistance, destination, destiny, determinant, division line, doom, effect, el, electric railway, elevated, elevated railway, embankment, end, end point, ending, envoi, epilogue, eschatology, expiration, extremity, fate, feeder, feeder line, final solution, final twitch, final words, finale, finality, finis, finish, finishing, floor, frontier, full development, goal, gravity-operated railway, harbor, haven, hedge, high-water mark, horse railway, interface, izzard, junction, last, last breath, last gasp, last stop, last things, last trumpet, last words, latter end, light railroad, limen, limit, limitation, limiting factor, line, line of demarcation, low-water mark, lower limit, main line, march, mark, maturation, maturity, mete, metro, monorail, omega, payoff, perfection, period, peroration, port, quietus, rack railway, rack-and-pinion railway, rail, rail line, railroad, railway, resolution, resting place, ripeness, roadbed, roadway, rounding off, rounding out, sidetrack, siding, start, starting line, starting point, stop, stoppage, stopping place, street railway, streetcar line, subway, swan song, switchback, target date, term, terminal, terminal date, terminal point, termination, threshold, time allotment, topping off, track, tram, tramline, trestle, trolley line, trunk, trunk line, tube, turnout, underground, upper limit, windup