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preterminal

 - 6 dictionary results

ter⋅mi⋅nal

  [tur-muh-nl]
Use preterminal in a Sentence
–adjective
1. situated at or forming the end or extremity of something: a terminal feature of a vista.
2. occurring at or forming the end of a series, succession, or the like; closing; concluding.
3. pertaining to or lasting for a term or definite period; occurring at fixed terms or in every term: terminal payments.
4. pertaining to, situated at, or forming the terminus of a railroad.
5. Botany. growing at the end of a branch or stem, as a bud or inflorescence.
6. Architecture. noting a figure, as a herm or term, in the form of a bust upon a gaine.
7. pertaining to or placed at a boundary, as a landmark.
8. occurring at or causing the end of life: a terminal disease.
9. Informal. utterly beyond hope, rescue, or saving: The undercapitalized project is a terminal problem.
–noun
10. a terminal part of a structure; end or extremity.
11. Railroads. a major assemblage of station, yard, maintenance, and repair facilities, as at a terminus, at which trains originate or terminate, or at which they are distributed or combined.
12. Computers. any device for entering information into a computer or receiving information from it, as a keyboard with video display unit, either adjoining the computer or at some distance from it.
13. a station on the line of a public carrier, as in a city center or at an airport, where passengers embark or disembark and where freight is received or discharged.
14. Electricity.
a. the mechanical device by means of which an electric connection to an apparatus is established.
b. the point of current entry to, or point of current departure from, any conducting component in an electric circuit.
15. Architecture.
a. a herm or term.
b. a carving or the like at the end of something, as a finial.
Origin:
1480–90; late ME < L terminālis, equiv. to termin(us) end, limit + -ālis -al 1

Related forms:
ter⋅mi⋅nal⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1, 2. final, ending, ultimate. 8. fatal, mortal, lethal.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

terminal  (adj.)
1459, "relating to or marking boundaries," from L. terminalis "pertaining to a boundary or end, final," from terminus "end, boundary line" (see terminus). Meaning "fatal" (terminal illness) is first recorded 1891. Sense of "situated at the extreme end of something" is from 1805. The noun sense of "end point of a railway line" is from 1888; that of "device for communicating with a computer" is first recorded 1954. Slang meaning "extreme" first recorded 1983.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pre·ter·mi·nal
Pronunciation: -'t&rm-n&l, -&n-&l
Function: adjective
1 : occurring orbeing in the period prior to death <preterminal cancer> preterminal patient>
2 : situated or occurring anterior to an end (as of a nerve)

Main Entry: 2terminal
Function: noun
: a part that forms an end; especially : NERVE ENDING terminal of a neuron —R. J. Wurtman>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

terminal ter·mi·nal (tûr'mə-nəl)
adj.

  1. Of, relating to, situated at, or forming a limit, a boundary, an extremity, or an end.

  2. Of, relating to, occurring at, or being the end of a section or series; final.

  3. Causing, ending in, or approaching death; fatal.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
terminal   (tûr'mə-nəl)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. Electricity

  2. A position in a circuit or device at which a connection can be made or broken. See Note at battery.

  3. Computer Science A device, often equipped with a keyboard and a video display, by which one can read, enter, or manipulate information in a computer system.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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