Terms - Definition and Overview

• Figures of speech and shorthands are called terms of language.
• Specialised terms are characterised as technical terms, or sometimes terms of art.
• A mathematical term is a basic component of a mathematical expression.
• In traditional logic, term came to mean a referring expression, but only through the Latin terminus (so that terms were 'terminal for analysis').
• In type theory, "term" is used for the linguistic constructs.
• A term can refer to a period of time, for example:
  • the term served in office by an incumbent;
  • the term served in prison by a convicted criminal;
  • an academic term – a number of weeks worth of study at a school or university
  • the term of a mortgage;
  • "long-term" and "short-term".
• In contracts, the terms are the details of an agreement, often the amounts of money.