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This word comes straight from Latin. In the Roman empire, a terminus was a boundary stone, and all boundary stones had a minor god associated with them, whose name was Terminus. Terminus was a kind of keeper of the peace, since wherever there was a terminus there could be no arguments about where your property ended and your neighbor's property began. So Terminus even had his own festival, the Terminalia, when images of the god were draped with flower garlands. Today the word shows up in all kinds of places, including in the name of numerous hotels worldwide built near a city's railway terminus.
Examples of terminus in a Sentence
Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 May 2025
The most complex of those interchanges is at the highway’s southern terminus at I-84, situated west of McDermott Road, just shy of the Nampa border.
—Rose Evans, Idaho Statesman, 28 Apr. 2025
In the post-World War II era, their house was positioned perfectly on the busy road, just steps from the northern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway.
—Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 5 Apr. 2025
Built in the 1970s, the lake provides water to millions of Californians, supports recreation and serves as the terminus for the East Branch of the California Aqueduct.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for terminus
Cite this Entry
“Terminus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terminus. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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terminus
noun
Medical Definition
terminus
noun
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