Terminal - Definition and Overview

The term Terminal can be used in several way and includes various topics:

• Usually terminal means forming or pertaining to an end.
• In Computing, it refers to an electronic or electromechanical hardware device. See Computer terminal.
• In Telecommunication, the term is used to describe an apparatus to send and/or receive signals on a line, such as a telephone or (in the context of voice over IP) as a general term for network devices, telephones or other stations. See terminal (telecommunication).
• In Electronics, the end of a line where signals are either transmitted or received, or a point along the length of a line where the signals are made available to apparatus. May also refer to the points where power is applied to the system such as a battery terminal. See terminal (electronics).
• In Transportation, it is a building where trips on a transportation service begin and end.
  • In air travel, a terminal refers to one or more buildings at an airport where passengers transfer from ground transportation to the facilities that allow them to board airplanes.
  • In rail transport, a terminal is a passenger rail station where rail service begins and ends; the end of the line.
  • A pipeline terminal is a storage facility at the downstream end of a pipeline transport, typically serving as a buffer between delivery and use.
• With regard to a disease or patient: death is approaching, no treatment aimed at curing is available, just palliative care. See also terminal sedation.
• The 2004 film; The Terminal by Steven Spielberg
• Terminal symbol in BNF is an indivisible entity.

See also

Look up Terminal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary

• terminus