Meanings
terminus1
plural termini · plural terminuses
- The end point of a transportation system, or the town or city in which it is located.
Wuhan is the terminus for cruises to the Yanzi^([sic – meaning Yangtze]) River gorges.
1991, “China”, in All-Asia Guide, volume III, Hongkong: Review Publishing, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 453 more examples
My brother supposes they must have filled outside London, for at that time the furious terror of the people had rendered the central termini impossible.
1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 171The arrangement for certain long-distance trains to call at suburban stations (saving passengers the trouble of journeying to the termini), which proved popular last year, is being extended.
1951 June, “British Railways Summer Services”, in Railway Magazine, page 419Thirty-five years ago, many journeys around London meant having to pass through the centre of the capital. That's no longer the case, which takes real pressure off the city's termini as well as underground routes such as the Circle Line.
2020 May 20, Paul Bigland, “East London Line's renaissance”, in Rail, page 49
Terminus2
- Romanhuman sciencesThe god of boundaries and landmarks, focus of the important Roman festival of Terminalia.
Synonyms: terminal figure
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounThe god of boundaries and landmarks, focus of the important Roman festival of Terminalia.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna place where something ends or is complete
noun(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
nounstation where transport vehicles load or unload passengers or goods
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
terminus · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*terh₂-?
- Proto-Indo-European*ter-?
- Proto-Indo-European*térmn̥
- Proto-Italic*termn̥
- Proto-Italic*term(e)nos
- Latinterminu
- Englishterminus
Learned borrowing from Latin terminus (“boundary, limit”). Doublet of term, Terminus, and termon.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Terminus · proper noun
- Proto-Indo-European*terh₂-?
- Proto-Indo-European*ter-?
- Proto-Indo-European*térmn̥
- Proto-Italic*termn̥
- Proto-Italic*term(e)nos
- Latinterminu
- EnglishTerminus
Learned borrowing from Latin terminus (“a boundary or border, a limit or point”). Doublet of terminus and term.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian крайна точка, крайна спирка
- крайна точка (krajna točka)end or final point
- крайна спирка (krajna spirka)end point of a transport system
Chinese Mandarin 終點站 /终点站
- 終點站 /终点站 (zhōngdiǎnzhàn)end point of a transport system
Danish endestation
- endestationend point of a transport system
Dutch eindpunt, eindstation
- eindpuntend point of a transport system
- eindstationend point of a transport system
Esperanto finstacio
- finstacioend point of a transport system
Finnish päätepiste, pääteasema
- päätepisteend or final point
- pääteasemaend point of a transport system
- päätepysäkkiend point of a transport system
- päättäriend point of a transport system
French terminus
- terminusend point of a transport system
German Endstation
- Endstationend point of a transport system
Hungarian végpont, végállomás
- végpontend or final point
- végállomásend point of a transport system
Indonesian terminus
- terminusend point of a transport system
Italian capolinea
- capolineaend point of a transport system
Japanese 終点
- 終点 (shūten)end point of a transport system
Korean 종점
- 종점 (jongjeom)end point of a transport system
Norwegian Bokmål endestasjon
- endestasjonend point of a transport system
Polish punkt końcowy, przystanek końcowy
- punkt końcowyend or final point
- przystanek końcowyend point of a transport system
- stacja końcowaend point of a transport system
- granicaboundary or border, or a post or stone marking such a boundary
Romanian terminus
- terminusend point of a transport system
Spanish término
- términoend or final point
Swedish slutstation, ändstation
- slutstationend point of a transport system
- ändstationend point of a transport system
- ändhållplatsend point of a transport system
Turkish son durak
- son durakend point of a transport system
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
terminus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terminus
“terminus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terminus. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “terminus,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terminus.
Source: terminus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.