Etymology

terminate

ter·mi·nate
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Today it means: To end something, especially when left in an incomplete state. Full definition →

Middle English terminaten ← Latin terminātus
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terminate · verb1

  1. Latin · borrowed fromterminātus
  2. Middle English · inherited fromterminaten“to bring to an end; to adjudicate; to end, stop; to border, confine, contain”
  3. English todayterminate

From Middle English terminaten (“to bring to an end; to adjudicate; to end, stop; to border, confine, contain”) from terminat(e) (“bounded”, also used as the past participle of terminaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin terminātus, perfect passive participle of terminō (“to set bounds to, bound, limit, end, close, terminate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from terminus (“a bound, limit, end”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix); see term, terminus. Doublet of termine, cognate with French terminer.

terminate · adjective2

  1. Middle English · inherited fromterminat(e)“bounded”
  2. English todayterminate

From Middle English terminat(e) (“bounded”, also used as the past participle of terminaten), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.