terminus

ter·mi·nus
T1E1R1M3I1N1U1S1
UK/ˈtɜː.mɪ.nəs/US/ˈtɝ.mə.nəs/US/-mɪ-/

noun

The end or final point of something.

“A bronz statue marked the terminus of the king's dominion.”

Opposite
Less commonScrabble 10

Meanings

terminus1

nounterminus (plural termini or terminuses)

plural termini · plural terminuses

  1. The end or final point of something.

    The river reached its terminus at the wide delta near the sea.

  2. 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 45
    3 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 171

    The 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 419

    Thirty-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
  3. obsoleteA boundary or border, or a post or stone marking such a boundary.

    A bronz statue marked the terminus of the king's dominion.

Terminus2

proper noun
  1. 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.

Opposite

More synonyms by meaning

nouna place where something ends or is complete

nounthe ultimate goal for which something is done

Broader

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

Broader

nounstation where transport vehicles load or unload passengers or goods

Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

terminus · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*terh₂-?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ter-?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*térmn̥
  4. Proto-Italic*termn̥
  5. Proto-Italic*term(e)nos
  6. Latinterminu
  7. Englishterminus

Learned borrowing from Latin terminus (“boundary, limit”). Doublet of term, Terminus, and termon.

Full word history & related roots →

Terminus · proper noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*terh₂-?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ter-?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*térmn̥
  4. Proto-Italic*termn̥
  5. Proto-Italic*term(e)nos
  6. Latinterminu
  7. EnglishTerminus

Learned borrowing from Latin terminus (“a boundary or border, a limit or point”). Doublet of terminus and term.

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
APA

terminus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terminus

MLA

“terminus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terminus. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “terminus,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terminus.

Source: terminus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.