terminus definition

Origin: L. See Term.

1. Literally, a boundary; a border; a limit.

2. The Roman divinity who presided over boundaries, whose statue was properly a short pillar terminating in the bust of a man, woman, satyr, or the like, but often merely a post or stone stuck in the ground on a boundary line.

3. Hence, any post or stone marking a boundary; a term. See Term.

4. Either end of a railroad line; also, the station house, or the town or city, at that place.

(01 Mar 1998)