terminus

noun

ter·mi·nus ˈtər-mə-nəs

plural termini ˈtər-mə-ˌnī

-ˌnē

or terminuses

Synonyms of terminus next

: either end of a transportation line or travel route

also : the station, town, or city at such a place : terminal

: an extreme point or element : tip

the terminus of a glacier

: a final goal : a finishing point

: a post or stone marking a boundary

Did you know?

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 Web The most noticeable change could involve station signage that includes the direction of train travel alongside the terminus stations — such as New Carrollton or Vienna — to indicate where a train is headed. —

Justin George, Washington Post, 12 Sep. 2023 All trailheads for the McKenzie River Trail are closed, though Clear Lake (the upper terminus of the trail) is still open. —

oregonlive, 21 Aug. 2023 Singapore has acquired land from other clubs The Jurong Country Club (JCC), with a lease meant to expire in 2035, was acquired by the government in May 2015, to be used as the site of the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail terminus. —

Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 6 June 2023 Excited chatter returned to a dim sum shop at the high-speed rail terminus. —

Kanis Leung and Zen Soo, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Apr. 2023 Canada, at the terminus of the Underground Railroad populated by people fleeing enslavement, their stories revealing the interwoven histories of Black and Indigenous peoples in North America. —

Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2023 This would seem to suggest the nightmare of Russia's muscle for hire foreign policy will only end either when the war in Ukraine has reached its terminus or when Putin's time in the Kremlin has expired. —

Time, 25 Aug. 2023 Fostered by development-favorable zoning on land around the route, the resulting growth is transforming the heart of Sugar House with an influx of new residents and businesses and has led South Salt Lake to stake an entire future downtown district around the S-Line’s western terminus. —

Tony Semerad, The Salt Lake Tribune, 7 Jan. 2023 In 1958, trail officials voted to shift the terminus to Springer Mountain, tucked in Chattahoochee National Forest - a place that was greener. —

Lizzie Johnson and Lauren Tierney, Anchorage Daily News, 27 July 2023 See More

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.