Terminal \Ter"mi*nal\, n.
1. That which terminates or ends; termination; extremity.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Eccl.) Either of the ends of the conducting circuit of an
electrical apparatus, as an inductorium, dynamo, or
electric motor, usually provided with binding screws for
the attachment of wires by which a current may be conveyed
into or from the machine; a pole.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Railroads)
(a) The end of a line of railroad, with the switches,
stations, sheds, and other appliances pertaining
thereto.
(b) Any station for the delivery or receipt of freight
lying too far from the main line to be served by mere
sidings.
(c) A rate charged on all freight, independent of the
distance, and supposed to cover the expenses of
station service, as distinct from mileage rate,
generally proportionate to the distance and intended
to cover movement expenses; a terminal charge.
(d) A town lying at the end of a railroad, in which the
terminal is located; -- more properly called a
terminus.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
4. The station at either end of a bus line line which
transports freight or passengers.
[PJC]
5. A station where passenger buses start or end a trip; --
also called bus terminal.
[PJC]
6. The structure at an airport where passengers board or
debark, and where ticket purchases and baggage pickup is
performed; -- also called airline terminal.
[PJC]
7. (Computers) An electronic device where data may be entered
into a computer, and information received from it, usually
consisting of a keyboard and video display unit (monitor);
the terminal may be integrated or connected directly to a
computer, or connected by a communications circuit with a
computer at a remote location; -- also called computer
terminal.
[PJC]
freight terminal, a terminal used for loading or unloading
of freight.
[PJC]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Terminal \Ter"mi*nal\ (-nal), a. [L. terminals: cf. F. terminal.
See Term, n.]
1. Of or pertaining to the end or extremity; forming the
extremity; as, a terminal edge.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Bot.) Growing at the end of a branch or stem;
terminating; as, a terminal bud, flower, or spike.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Railroads) Pertaining to a railroad terminal; connected
with the receipt or delivery of freight; as, terminal
charges.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
Terminal moraine. See the Note under Moraine.
Terminal statue. See Terminus, n., 2 and 3.
Terminal velocity.
(a) The velocity acquired at the end of a body's motion.
(b) The limit toward which the velocity of a body
approaches, as of a body falling through the air.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
terminal
adj 1: being or situated at an end; "the endmost pillar"; "terminal
buds on a branch"; "a terminal station"; "the terminal
syllable" [syn: endmost]
2: of or relating to or situated at the ends of a delivery
route; "freight pickup is a terminal service"; "terminal
charges"
3: relating to or occurring in a term or fixed period of time;
"terminal examinations"; "terminal payments"
4: occurring at or forming an end or termination; "his
concluding words came as a surprise"; "the final chapter";
"the last days of the dinosaurs"; "terminal leave" [syn: concluding,
final, last]
5: causing or ending in or approaching death; "a terminal
patient"; "terminal cancer"
n 1: station where transport vehicles load or unload passengers
or goods [syn: terminus, depot]
2: a contact on an electrical device (such as a battery) at
which electric current enters or leaves [syn: pole]
3: electronic equipment consisting of a device providing access
to a computer; has a keyboard and display
WordNet (r) 2.0
234 Moby Thesaurus words for "terminal":
CRT, L, Z, anchorage, apodosis, bad, beyond recall, beyond remedy,
bordering, borderline, boundary, bounding, bourn, branch,
cable railway, catastrophe, caudal, ceasing, cessation,
clause boundary, clause terminal, close juncture, closing, coastal,
coda, cog railway, completing, completive, completory, concluding,
conclusion, conclusive, conductor, connection, connector,
consummation, consummative, control panel, coupling, crack of doom,
crowning, culminating, culmination, cureless, curtain, curtains,
deadly, death, decease, definitive, denouement, depot,
despaired of, destination, destiny, determinant, determinative,
determining, done for, doom, dying, effect, el, electric railway,
elevated, elevated railway, embankment, end, end point, ending,
endmost, envoi, epilogue, eschatology, eventual, expiration,
expiring, extreme, facing death, falling terminal, farthest, fatal,
fate, feeder, feeder line, final, final solution, final twitch,
final words, finale, finality, finalizing, finis, finish,
finishing, fringing, frontier, fulfilling, given up, goal, going,
gone, gravity-operated railway, greatest, harbor, haven, hindmost,
hopeless, horse railway, immedicable, in articulo mortis,
in extremis, incapable of life, incorrigible, incurable,
inoperable, irreclaimable, irrecoverable, irredeemable,
irreformable, irremediable, irreparable, irretrievable,
irreversible, irrevocable, izzard, junction, juncture, keyboard,
lag, last, last breath, last gasp, last stop, last things,
last trumpet, last words, latest, latter, latter end, lethal,
light railroad, limbic, liminal, limit, limitable, limital,
limiting, line, littoral, lost, low, main line, marginal, maximum,
metro, module, monitor, monorail, moribund, mortal, near death,
nonviable, omega, open juncture, past hope, past praying for,
pause, payoff, period, peroration, polar, port, position, quietus,
rack railway, rack-and-pinion railway, rail, rail line, railroad,
railway, remediless, resolution, resting place, rimming,
rising terminal, roadbed, roadway, ruined, sandhi, screen,
sidetrack, siding, sinking, skirting, slipping, slipping away,
station, stop, stoppage, stopping place, street railway,
streetcar line, subway, swan song, switchback, tail, term,
terminable, terminal point, terminating, termination, terminative,
terminus, threshold, track, tram, tramline, trestle, trolley line,
trunk, trunk line, tube, turnout, ultimate, underground, undone,
unmitigable, unrelievable, unsalvable, unsalvageable, windup, wire,
word boundary
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
terminal
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)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)
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