This word comes straight from Latin. In the Roman empire, a terminus was a boundary stone, and all boundary stones had a minor god associated with them, whose name was Terminus. Terminus was a kind of keeper of the peace, since wherever there was a terminus there could be no arguments about where your property ended and your neighbor's property began. So Terminus even had his own festival, the Terminalia, when images of the god were draped with flower garlands. Today the word shows up in all kinds of places, including in the name of numerous hotels worldwide built near a city's railway terminus.
Examples of terminus in a Sentence
Stockholm is the terminus for the southbound train.
Geologists took samples from the terminus of the glacier.
the terminus of the DNA strand
Recent Examples on the WebOr take major interstates to its terminus in Santa Monica and consider the journey complete.—Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2024 Sloane Square itself is a busy commercial hub at the eastern terminus of King’s Road — the district’s primary shopping thoroughfare.—Brad Japhe, Travel + Leisure, 22 May 2024 The other proposals submitted were a $6 million loan for a $127 million project to build 172-unit Olive Park Apartments at the terminus of Olive Avenue; a $3.6 million loan to build 64 apartments at 901 Pier View Way; and a $1 million loan to rehabilitate 144 apartments at 4779 Yuma Ave.—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2024 Western doesn’t veer one iota from a 180-degree angle until its fourth and final freeway crossing, with the 405, more than 17 miles from the northern terminus.—Pedro Moura, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for terminus
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'terminus.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Latin, boundary marker, limit — more at term entry 1
Share