The difference between word and term

Most of us do not give much thought to the difference between term and word and use them interchangeably. However, a word is a meaningful element in a language. A term, on the other hand, is a word but has a particular meaning in a situation. Hence, these two cannot be used interchangeably. The relationship between a word and a term can simply be understood in the following manner. All terms are words, but not all words are terms. This highlights that words have a general meaning, which applies to our day to day understanding. However, a term goes a step further; it acquires a special meaning in a special situation. Through this article let us examine the differences between a word and a term.

What is a Word?

A word can be defined as a complete meaningful element of a language. Words are made up of morphemes that are the smallest elements of a language. Unlike morphemes that may or may not be able to stand alone, words can always make sense even in isolation. When a number of words are put together, they create a sentence. However, we must pay attention to the grammatical rules that apply to language when creating sentences.

Words can be spoken or else written. These always carry a meaning that is understood by the majority, making the meaning almost universal to the speaker. However, a term does not always carry the same meaning. Most terms are also words. This can be a single word or else a combination of words. When we say culture, value, crime, girl, animal, all these words have a universal meaning to the reader. However, a term does not have this characteristic. It has a special meaning in a specific context.

Difference Between Term and Word

‘Girl’ is a word

What is a Term?

A term can simply be understood as a word. All terms are words, but not all words are terms. A term is a particular definition of a word, which is applicable to a special situation. For example, in disciplines such as sociology, psychology, biology, geography, there are terms that convey a unique meaning to the user. A term can be used to express an idea, an abstract thought, an object, a concept, etc. A term always represents something.

The special feature of a term is that even though it may have a general meaning in our day to day life, it is different from the meaning with which it is associated in a particular discipline. For example, let us take the very idea of a word.

Most of us consider a word as something that is used to represent something else such as a chair or a book. However, a linguistic may have a completely different definition for a word. He may consider it as the smallest meaningful element of a language. A sociolinguistic may define it as the relationship between the signifier and the signified. This highlights that a term and a word are very different from one another.

Term vs Word

As a term a word has a different meaning from its general usage

What is the difference Between Term and Word?

• Definitions of Term and Word:

• A word can be defined as a complete meaningful element of a language.

• A term is a particular definition of a word, which is applicable to a specific situation.

• Connection:

• All terms are words, but not all words are terms.

• Meaning:

• Words have a universal meaning to the speaker of that particular language.

• A term does not have a universal meaning. It has a special meaning in a specific situation.

• Transferring Meaning:

• A word can be transformed into a term when used in a discipline to refer to a specific object or situation.

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  1. Girl by 
  2. Tag cloud by Pyrsmis (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Most of us do not give much thought to the difference between term and word and use them interchangeably. However, a word is a meaningful element in a language. A term, on the other hand, is a word but has a particular meaning in a situation. … All terms are words, but not all words are terms.

  1. Does term mean word?
  2. What is an example of term?
  3. What type of word is term?
  4. What are the two types of meaning of terms?
  5. Can two words be a term?
  6. What does the term Scandare mean?
  7. What is a term in a sentence?
  8. How do you identify a term?
  9. What are your terms meaning?
  10. What is a term in English?
  11. What is a term in school?

Does term mean word?

The definition of a term is a word or group of words that has a special meaning, a specific time period or a condition of a contract. An example of term is «cultural diversity.» An example of term is three months for a college semester. … A point of time designating the beginning or end of a period.

What is an example of term?

Term — Definition with Examples

A term can be a constant or a variable or both in an expression. In the expression, 3a + 8, 3a and 8 are terms. Here is another example, in which 5x and 7 are terms that form the expression 5x + 7.

What type of word is term?

noun. a name, expression, or word used for some particular thing, esp in a specialized field of knowledgea medical term. any word or expression. a limited period of timehis second term of office; a prison term. any of the divisions of the academic year during which a school, college, etc, is in session.

What are the two types of meaning of terms?

Two main types of word meaning are grammatical and lexical.

Can two words be a term?

For the basic question of whether the words constitute a phrase, the answer is a Yes. … Also, when the words so together serve to convey a certain definite sense, different from the meanings of the individual words, and this sense is accepted over time, they are generally called a ‘set phrase’.

What does the term Scandare mean?

Transcendence comes from the Latin prefix trans meaning “beyond,” and the word scandare, meaning “to climb.” So when you achieve transcendence, you have gone beyond your ordinary limitations. Transcendence is the act of rising above something to a superior state.

What is a term in a sentence?

Definition of Term. a fixed period in which something is supposed to last. Examples of Term in a sentence. 1. The president only served one term and decided not to run for reelection.

How do you identify a term?

A term is either a number by itself, which is called a constant, a variable by itself or a number multiplied by a variable. The number that’s with a variable is called a coefficient. An expression differs from an equation because an expression is a group of terms without an equal sign.

What are your terms meaning?

phrase. If you do something on your terms, you do it under conditions that you decide because you are in a position of power. They will sign the union treaty only on their terms.

What is a term in English?

A term is a word or expression with a specific meaning, especially one which is used in relation to a particular subject.

What is a term in school?

An academic term (or simply term) is a portion of an academic year, the time during which an educational institution holds classes. … In Northern Hemisphere countries, this means that the academic year lasts from August, September, or October to May, June, or July.

Words and terms are related concepts. Both of them describe a symbol, such as a series of sounds, a series of letters, or a single glyph, that represents an object or concept.

The concept of a word is one of those things that is easier to understand than to explain. Most people know what a word is, but it’s difficult to put it into words. Still, the simplest and most precise definition is that a word is the smallest unit of language that conveys meaning to the majority of people you are trying to reach. The unit of language is defined, in the English script, to be a series of letters or sounds between spaces or pauses. For instance, ‘a’ is one of the smallest words in the language, but it is considered a separate word because it is between spaces. Antidisestablishmentarianism is pretty long, but it is still considered a word because it has a set meaning and it is separate from other words by means of spacing. In order for that unit to be a word, the intended audience must also know what it means, and a number of people must agree on how it is used.

In other cases, it can be used as synecdoche to describe a number of other things that are typically conveyed using words. There is a long list of possible meanings for that. It can mean the act of speaking, news or some other kind of contact, an order or formal request for information, a brief conversation, and a few others. In religion, ‘The Word’ often means the bible or some other religious contact from their deity. This is especially true in Christianity.

The word ‘word’ can also be used as a verb. It can mean deciding how to phrase something, such as lines in a letter. To word a letter carefully means to take a lot of time deciding which words should be used in the letter and to think about how those choices will be read by the person it its being sent to. Some less common meanings are to flatter someone, to overpower someone with words, and to speak to others, though the latter is much less common in modern English.

Terms are types of words: all terms are words or made up of words, but not all words are terms.  Specifically, a term is a word that is typically used in a specialized field. For example, ‘sternum’ is the medical term for the bone at the front of the ribcage. This is especially found in medicine and other sciences.

Another common definition is that a term has a different meaning in one particular situation than it does in normal use. For instance, the word ‘particular’ most often means something that is defined by being unique or less like others of its kind. However, in logic, the word ‘particular’ means a sentence that is true in some cases, but not in all. In everyday use, ‘particular’ would be a word. In the logic branch, when taking about the particular sentences, the word ‘particular’ would be a term.

Because they are so strongly associated with doctors and scientists, ‘term’ also takes on a more formal role and you are most likely to see it when talking about scientific or medical matters. ‘Word’ is neutral, except in some types of slang, and it can be found in pretty much any type of media.

Some people will misuse the word ‘term’, since some of them think it is merely a fancier word for ‘word’. It is not, and it has a completely separate meaning.

To summarize, while all terms are words, not all words are terms. ‘Word’ is the basic, neutral word for things that represent concepts. Terms, however, are specialized words, and they tend to be more formal because of their common associations.

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APA 7
, K. (2016, June 8). Difference Between Word and Term. Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects. http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-word-and-term/.

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, Kianna. «Difference Between Word and Term.» Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects, 8 June, 2016, http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-word-and-term/.

The difference between a word and term can be confusing for some people. In essence, a word is a general term that refers to any unit of speech, while a term is more specific and has a specific meaning within certain context. For example, the word “dog” could refer to any breed of canine, while the term “Labrador Retriever” refers to a particular breed of dog. Similarly, the word “rocket” could refer to any type of projectile device, while the term “space shuttle” refers to a specific type of rocket. In most cases, words are more commonly used than terms, but it’s important to understand the distinction between the two in order to use them correctly.

What is Word?

A word phrase is a group of words that function together as a unit and that do not contain a subject and verb. Word phrases can be either shortest or longest. The shortest word phrase is a single word, such as “He,” “the,” or “very.” The longest word phrase is a sentence. In between these two extremes are various other types of phrases: gerund phrases, participial phrases, prepositional phrases, appositive phrases, and absolute phrases. Each type of phrase has its own function and serves a different purpose in a sentence. Word phrases are an important part of grammar because they add variety and interest to writing. They also can be used to create emphasis or to avoid repeating the same word too many times. When used correctly, word phrases can make writing more concise and easier to understand.

What is Term?

Term is a word or phrase that has a specific meaning within a particular context. For example, the term “red” can refer to a color, a political affiliation, or a type of apple. In each case, the term has a different meaning. Similarly, the term “piano” can refer to a musical instrument, a type of furniture, or an adjective meaning “soft.” Once again, the meaning of the term varies depending on the context in which it is used. By understanding the different meanings of terms, we can communicate more effectively and avoid misunderstandings.

Difference between Word and Term

Word and Term are both English language concepts with distinct meanings. A word is a unit of language that can be uttered in isolation with understandable meaning. A term, on the other hand, is a word or phrase that has a specialized meaning within a particular field of knowledge. In other words, a term is a concept that belongs to a certain subject area or field of study. For example, the word “book” is a word that can be used in everyday conversation. However, the term “bibliophile” is a term that is only used by people who study or collect books. As such, the term has a more specific meaning than the word “book.” In general, words are more common and familiar than terms. Terms are often used in academic or technical contexts, where precision and clarity are essential.

Conclusion

We hope this article has helped clear up any confusion between the words “word” and “term.” As you can see, there is a big difference between these two terms, especially when it comes to their definitions and uses in the English language. Now that you know the distinctions between these two words, be sure to use them correctly in your own writing!

I know a word is more specific compared to a term but i don’t know which one is definitive or the actual meaning of the two.

asked Nov 5, 2017 at 4:11

O_Maina's user avatar

2

A word is language that is officially accepted,has an official definition, and is understood the same by everyone in general. A term is language used formally or informally that may be understood among some or a specific group (such as within an industry, a gang, a culture) but not everyone. For example slang.

answered Nov 5, 2017 at 8:58

Shawna's user avatar

ShawnaShawna

1193 bronze badges

We say «term» when discussing a word that has a specific meaning in a special context. Like someone might say, «What is the term in chemistry for a substance that …» «Word» is more general. «The» and «dog» are words. You’d rarely refer to them as «terms».

Also, a «term» can be more than one word. Like you might say, «The term for that is ‘style injection'», i.e. two words making up a single term.

answered Nov 5, 2017 at 4:57

Jay's user avatar

JayJay

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Not the answer you’re looking for? Browse other questions tagged

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word | term |

In context|computing|lang=en terms the difference between word and term

is that word is (computing) a fixed-size group of bits handled as a unit by a machine on many machines a word is 16 bits or two bytes while term is (computing) a terminal emulator, a program that emulates a video terminal.

In context|archaic|lang=en terms the difference between word and term

is that word is (archaic) to use words, as in discussion; to argue; to dispute while term is (archaic) a menstrual period.

As nouns the difference between word and term

is that word is the fact or action of speaking, as opposed to writing or to action while term is limitation, restriction or regulation.

As verbs the difference between word and term

is that word is to say or write (something) using particular words while term is to phrase a certain way, especially with an unusual wording.

As a interjection word

is (slang|aave) truth, to tell or speak the truth; the shortened form of the statement, «my word is my bond,» an expression eventually shortened to «word is bond,» before it finally got cut to just «word,» which is its most commonly used form.

Other Comparisons: What’s the difference?

word

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) word, from (etyl) verb.

Noun

(en noun)
{{examples-right,
The word inventory may be pronounced with four syllables (/??n.v?n.t?.?i/) or only three (/?n?v?n.t?i/).

The word island» is six letters long; the »s» has never been pronounced but was added under the influence of »isle .

The word me signed in American Sign Language.
}}

  • The smallest unit of language which has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language.
  • * 1986 , David Barrat, Media Sociology (ISBN 041505110X), page 112:
    The word , whether written or spoken, does not look like or sound like its meaning — it does not resemble its signified. We only connect the two because we have learnt the code — language. Without such knowledge, ‘Maggie’ would just be a meaningless pattern of shapes or sounds.
  • * 2009 , Jack Fitzgerald, Viva La Evolucin (ISBN 055719833X), page 233:
    Brian and Abby signed the word‘ »clothing», in which the thumbs brush down the chest as though something is hanging there. They both spoke the »’word»’ »clothing». Brian then signed the »’word for »change ,
  • *
  • # The smallest discrete unit of spoken language which has a particular meaning, composed of one or more phonemes and one or more morphemes.
  • #* 1894 , Alex. R. Mackwen, The Samaritan Passover», in »Littell’s Living Age , series 6, volume 1:
  • Then all was silent save the voice of the high priest, whose words grew louder and louder,
  • #*
  • # The smallest discrete unit of written language which has a particular meaning, composed of one or more letters or symbols and one or more morphemes.
  • #* , act 2, scene 2:
  • Polonius: What do you read, my lord?
  • Hamlet: Words‘, »’words»’, ‘ words .
  • #* 2003 , Jan Furman, Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon: A Casebook (ISBN 0195146352), page 194:
  • The name was a confused gift of love from her father, who could not read the word but picked it out of the Bible for its visual shape,
  • #* 2009 , Stanislas Dehaene, Reading in the Brain: The New Science of How We Read (ISBN 1101152400):
  • Well-meaning academics even introduced spelling absurdities such as the “s” in the word “island,” a misguided Renaissance attempt to restore the etymology of the [unrelated] Latin word insula .
  • # A discrete, meaningful unit of language which is approved by some authority.
  • #* 1896 , (Israel Zangwill), Without Prejudice , page 21:
  • “Ain’t! How often am I to tell you ain’t ain’t a word ?”
  • #* 1999 , Linda Greenlaw, The Hungry Ocean , Hyperion, page 11:
  • Fisherwoman isn’t even a word . It’s not in the dictionary.
  • # A sequence of letters or characters, or sounds, which (does not necessarily belong to a language or have a meaning, but which) is considered as a discrete entity.
  • #* 1974 , Thinking Goes to School: Piaget’s Theory in Practice (ISBN 0199839077), page 183:
  • In still another variation, the nonsense word is presented and the teacher asks, «What sound was in the beginning of the word?» «In the middle?» and so on. The child should always respond with the phoneme; he should not use letter labels.
  • #* 2003 , How To Do Everything with Your Tablet PC (ISBN 0072227710), page 278:
  • I wrote a nonsense word , «umbalooie,» in the Input Panel’s Writing Pad. Input Panel converted it to «cembalos» and displayed it in the Text Preview pane.
  • #* 2006 , Scribal Habits and Theological Influences in the Apocalypse (ISBN 3161491122), page 141:
  • Here the scribe has dropped the ?? from ?????????, thereby creating the nonsense word ???????.
  • #* 2013 , The Cognitive Neuropsychology of Language (ISBN 1317859979), page 91:
  • If M. V. has sustained impairment to a phonological output process common to reading and repetition, we might anticipate that her mispronunciations will partially reflect the underlying phonemic form of the nonsense word .
  • Something which is like such a unit of language:
  • # (telegraphy) A unit of text equivalent to five characters and one space.
  • # (computing) A fixed-size group of bits handled as a unit by a machine (on many machines, 16 bits or two bytes).
  • # (computer science) A finite string which is not a command or operator.
  • # (group theory) A group element, expressed as a product of group elements.
  • The fact or act of speaking, as opposed to taking action.
  • * 1811 , (Jane Austen), (Sense and Sensibility) :
    she believed them still so very much attached to each other, that they could not be too sedulously divided in word and deed on every occasion.
  • * 2004 , Richard Williams, The Guardian , 8 Sep 2004:
    As they fell apart against Austria, England badly needed someone capable of leading by word and example.
  • * 1611 , Bible , Authorized Version, (w) XXVI.75:
    And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
  • * (1809-1892)
    She said; but at the happy word «he lives», / My father stooped, re-fathered, o’er my wound.
  • * (Charles Dickens) (1812-1870)
    There is only one other point on which I offer a word of remark.
  • * 1945 April 1, Sebastian Haffner, in The Observer :
    «The Kaiser laid down his arms at a quarter to twelve. In me, however, they have an opponent who ceases fighting only at five minutes past twelve,» said Hitler some time ago. He has never spoken a truer word .
  • * 2011 , (David Bellos), Is That a Fish in Your Ear? , Penguin 2012, page 126:
    Despite appearances to the contrary […] dragomans stuck rigidly to their brief, which was not to translate the Sultan’s words, but his word .
  • A watchword or rallying cry, a verbal signal (even when consisting of multiple words).
  • * 1592 , William Shakespeare, :
    Our ancient word of courage, fair Saint George, inspire us with the spleen of fiery dragons!
  • * 1647 (published), John Fletcher and William Rowley, (The Maid in the Mill) (published in the first Beaumont and Fletcher folio), scene 3:
    I have the word : sentinel, do thou stand;
    mum’s the word
  • (lb) A proverb or motto.
  • * 1499 , (John Skelton), The Bowge of Court :
    Among all other was wrytten in her trone / In golde letters, this worde , whiche I dyde rede: / Garder le fortune que est mauelz]] et [[bon, bone .
  • * 1599 , Ben Jonson, (Every Man out of His Humour) :
    Let the word be ‘Not without mustard’. Your crest is very rare, sir.
  • * 1646 , , The Balm of Gilead :
    The old word is, ‘What the eye views not, the heart rues not.’
  • *
    Word had gone round during the day that old Major, the prize Middle White boar, had had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals.
  • An order; a request or instruction; an expression of will.
    Don’t fire till I give the word
    Their mother’s word was law.
  • A promise; an oath or guarantee.
  • A brief discussion or conversation.
  • (in the plural) Angry debate or conversation; argument.
  • * 1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , :
    And that worde‘ was made flesshe, and dwelt amonge vs, and we sawe the glory off yt, as the glory off the only begotten sonne off the father, which ‘ worde was full of grace, and verite.
  • Usage notes

    * (distinct unit of language) In English and other space-delimited languages, it is customary to treat «word» as referring to any sequence of characters delimited by spaces. However, this is not applicable to languages such as Chinese and Japanese, which are normally written without spaces, or to languages such as Vietnamese, which are written with a space between each syllable.
    * (computing) The size (length) of a word, while being fixed in a particular machine or processor family design, can be different in different designs, for many reasons. See for a full explanation.

    Quotations

    * 1897 , Ouida, The New Woman», in »An Altruist and Four Essays , page 239:
    *: But every word‘, whether written or spoken, which urges the woman to antagonism against the man, every ‘ word which is written or spoken to try and make of her a hybrid, self-contained opponent of men, makes a rift in the lute to which the world looks for its sweetest music.
    * 2011 , John Lehew (senior), The Encouragement of Peter (ISBN 1615074708), page 108:
    *: In what sense is God’s Word living? No other word , whether written or spoken, has the power that the Bible has to change lives.
    *

    Synonyms

    * (distinct unit of language) vocable
    * (something promised) promise
    * (God) God, Logos
    * (Bible) word of God, Bible
    * See also

    Verb

    (en verb)

  • (lb) To say or write (something) using particular words; to phrase (something).
    I’m not sure how to word this letter to the council.
  • To flatter with words, to cajole.
  • * 1607 , William Shakespeare, Anthony and Cleopatra , act 5, scene 2:
    He words‘ me, girls, he ‘ words me, that I should not / be noble to myself.
  • (lb) To ply or overpower with words.
  • * 1621 November 30, James Howell, letter to Francis Bacon, from Turin:
    if one were to be worded to death, Italian is the fittest Language [for that task]
  • * 1829 April, Webster’s Dictionary», in »The North American Review , volume 28, page 438:
    if a man were to be worded to death, or stoned to death by words, the High-Dutch were the fittest [language for that task].
  • To conjure with a word.
  • * (Robert South), Sermon on Psalm XXXIX. 9 :
    Against him who could word‘ heaven and earth out of nothing, and can when he pleases ‘ word them into nothing again.
  • * 1994 , Liminal Postmodernisms»/»Postmodern Studies , volume 8, page 162:
    «Postcolonialism» might well be another linguistic construct, desperately begging for a referent that will never show up, simply because it never existed on its own and was literally worded into existence by the very term that pretends to be born from it.
  • * 2013 , Carla Mae Streeter, Foundations of Spirituality: The Human and the Holy (ISBN 0814680712), page 92:
    The being of each person is worded into existence in the Word,
  • To speak, to use words; to converse, to discourse.
  • * 1818 , John Keats, Hyperion :
    Thus wording timidly among the fierce: / ‘O Father, I am here the simplest voice, […]’
  • Synonyms

    * (say or write using particular words) express, phrase, put into words, state

    Interjection

    (en interjection)

  • (slang, AAVE) truth, indeed, to tell or speak the truth; the shortened form of the statement, «My word is my bond,» an expression eventually shortened to «Word is bond,» before it finally got cut to just «Word,» which is its most commonly used form.
  • * «Yo, that movie was epic!» / «Word‘?» («You speak the truth?») / «‘ Word .» («I speak the truth.»)
  • (slang, emphatic, stereotypically, AAVE) An abbreviated form of word up; a statement of the acknowledgment of fact with a hint of nonchalant approval.
  • * 2004 , Shannon Holmes, Never Go Home Again: A Novel , page 218
    » Know what I’m sayin’?» / «Word !» the other man strongly agreed. «Let’s do this — «
  • * 2007 , Gabe Rotter, Duck Duck Wally: A Novel , page 105
    «»
  • * 2007 , Relentless Aaron The Last Kingpin , page 34
    «»
  • Derived terms

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    Statistics

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    term

    Noun

    (en noun)

  • Limitation, restriction or regulation. (rfex)
  • Any of the binding conditions or promises in a legal contract.
  • That which limits the extent of anything; limit; extremity; bound; boundary.
  • * Francis Bacon
    Corruption is a reciprocal to generation, and they two are as nature’s two terms , or boundaries.
  • (geometry) A point, line, or superficies that limits.
    A line is the term»’ of a superficies, and a superficies is the »’term of a solid.
  • A word or phrase, especially one from a specialised area of knowledge.
    «Algorithm» is a term used in computer science.
  • Relations among people.
  • * , chapter=22, title= The Mirror and the Lamp
    , passage=Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part.
  • Part of a year, especially one of the three parts of an academic year.
  • (mathematics) Any value (variable or constant) or expression separated from another term by a space or an appropriate character, in an overall expression or table.
  • (logic) The subject or the predicate of a proposition; one of the three component parts of a syllogism, each one of which is used twice.
  • * Sir W. Hamilton
    The subject and predicate of a proposition are, after Aristotle, together called its terms or extremes.
  • (architecture) A quadrangular pillar, adorned on top with the figure of a head, as of a man, woman, or satyr.
  • Duration of a set length; period in office of fixed length.
  • (computing) A terminal emulator, a program that emulates a video terminal.
  • (of a patent) The maximum period during which the patent can be maintained into force.
  • (astrology) An essential dignity in which unequal segments of every astrological sign have internal rulerships which affect the power and integrity of each planet in a natal chart.
  • (archaic) A menstrual period.
  • * 1660 , (Samuel Pepys), Diary
    My wife, after the absence of her terms for seven weeks, gave me hopes of her being with child, but on the last day of the year she hath them again.
  • (nautical) A piece of carved work placed under each end of the taffrail.
  • Derived terms

    {{der3, at term
    , blanket term
    , collective term
    , come to terms
    , long-term
    , midterm
    , short-term
    , term limit
    , term logic
    , term of art
    , terms and conditions
    , umbrella term}}

    See also

    * idiom
    * lexeme
    * listeme
    * word

    Verb

    (en verb)

  • To phrase a certain way, especially with an unusual wording.
  • *
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=September-October, author=(Henry Petroski), magazine=(American Scientist), title= The Evolution of Eyeglasses
    , passage=The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone, essentially what today we might term a frameless magnifying glass or plain glass paperweight.}}
  • Words and terms are related concepts. A word is the smallest unit of language that community messages to the audience. It can be a chain of letters or sounds found between spaces or pauses. For something to be regarded as a word, it has to be meaningful, the audience must understand, and some people must agree on how it is used. Terms, on the other hand, are types of words: all terms are words or forms of words, but all words are not terms.

    A term is a unique used word in a specialized field. For example, ‘sternum’ is a medical term for bone. A term can also be seen to have a different meaning in a situation than it does in normal use. For example, the word ‘particular’ usually means something that is unique, but in logic, the word ‘particular’ means a sentence that is true in some cases, but not in all.

    In everyday use, the first ‘particular’ is a word while in logic, the latter ‘particular’ is a term. The term is more formal and is most associated with scientific or medical matters. ‘Word’ is neutral, except in slang, and it can be found in any type of media. Many misuse the word ‘term’ because they see it as a fancier word for ‘word.’ It is not. It has a different meaning.

    A term refers to an agreed upon word within a specific context, such as a career field (or trade), field of study, hobby, or (mayyybe) a subculture. These tend to be ‘technical’ or defined with precision in mind, but not necessarily. ‘Term’ can itself be used in the phrase ‘colloquial term’ for example, and a ‘colloquial term’ is another way of saying ‘slang’ or ‘informal synonym.’

    A word is basically defined by pronunciation, and in English (and all languages written in the Latin alphabet I know), we handily mark these with spaces. It does get more complex, as ‘technically’ some English ‘words’ are actually written with a space between, even though they are said as one word, but I think most native speakers don’t notice this. (Edit: And I doubt that you will ever have to worry about this consciously.)

    Of course, in some way, all words are ‘terms’, and you can say things like ‘the Norwegian term is «Nordistikk»‘. ‘term’ sounds more formal, and has some uses ‘word’ doesn’t, but in many contexts they are synonymous, though with ‘word’ being much more common.

    There are also other uses of ‘term’, of course, such as term = semester or a period of schooling between two holidays (ie. the spring term = the spring semester), likewise you can say ‘his «term» in office’ for the time someone has spent at some official position, you can be ‘on friendly «terms»‘ with someone, and it has some specific uses in maths.

    Edit: Actually, I do not know if ‘word’ is more common. There is an assumption that informal words are indeed more common, but I don’t have any statistics to prove it. :D

    A term refers to an agreed upon word within a specific context, such as a career field (or trade), field of study, hobby, or (mayyybe) a subculture. These tend to be ‘technical’ or defined with precision in mind, but not necessarily. ‘Term’ can itself be used in the phrase ‘colloquial term’ for example, and a ‘colloquial term’ is another way of saying ‘slang’ or ‘informal synonym.’

    A word is basically defined by pronunciation, and in English (and all languages written in the Latin alphabet I know), we handily mark these with spaces. It does get more complex, as ‘technically’ some English ‘words’ are actually written with a space between, even though they are said as one word, but I think most native speakers don’t notice this. (Edit: And I doubt that you will ever have to worry about this consciously.)

    Of course, in some way, all words are ‘terms’, and you can say things like ‘the Norwegian term is «Nordistikk»‘. ‘term’ sounds more formal, and has some uses ‘word’ doesn’t, but in many contexts they are synonymous, though with ‘word’ being much more common.

    There are also other uses of ‘term’, of course, such as term = semester or a period of schooling between two holidays (ie. the spring term = the spring semester), likewise you can say ‘his «term» in office’ for the time someone has spent at some official position, you can be ‘on friendly «terms»‘ with someone, and it has some specific uses in maths.

    Edit: Actually, I do not know if ‘word’ is more common. There is an assumption that informal words are indeed more common, but I don’t have any statistics to prove it. :D

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