English
term
Term comes from Latin terminus ‘a bound, boundary, limit, end’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*térmn̥‘stump’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*termn̥‘boundary stone’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*term(e)nos‘boundary stone’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminus‘a bound’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400terme
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588term
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*térmn̥‘stump’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*termn̥‘boundary stone’reconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*term(e)nos‘boundary stone’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterminus‘a bound’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400terme
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588term
Earliest quotation: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “The pillers that haue bolſtered vp thoſe tearmes, Are…”
The story
Old English had termen, from the same source.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ter- ‘tender, weak’
thrill, intrigue, treachery, thro, inextricable, 30 more
through Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥ ‘stump, end, boundary’
through Latin terminus ‘a bound, boundary, limit, end’
determination, extermination, determinism, interminable, determinate, 24 more
Today it means
noun That which limits the extent of anything; limit, extremity, bound, boundary, terminus.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥ / term