Origin: Latin suffix -al
Terminal has 12 different meanings across 2 categories:
electronic equipment consisting of a device providing access to a computer; has a keyboard and display
"The technician plugged in his terminal to remotely diagnose the server's network errors."
A building in an airport where passengers transfer from ground transportation to the facilities that allow them to board airplanes.
"After dropping off my luggage at the curb, I walked through the terminal to find a gate for my flight to London."
In plain English: A terminal is an old-fashioned computer that you connect to a mainframe system to send and receive messages.
"The bus terminal was crowded with people waiting for their rides."
To store bulk liquids (such as oil or chemicals) in storage tanks prior to further distribution.
"The shipping schedule is delayed because the new chemical terminal hasn't finished filling its initial batch of crude oil into storage tanks yet."
In plain English: To terminate something means to bring it to an end or stop it completely.
"The passengers had to wait for their flight at the airport terminal."
of or relating to or situated at the ends of a delivery route
"freight pickup is a terminal service"
"terminal charges"
relating to or occurring in a term or fixed period of time
"terminal examinations"
"terminal payments"
being or situated at an end
"the endmost pillar"
"terminal buds on a branch"
"a terminal station"
"the terminal syllable"
occurring at or forming an end or termination
"his concluding words came as a surprise"
"the final chapter"
"the last days of the dinosaurs"
"terminal leave"
Fatal; resulting in death.
"The patient's condition deteriorated so rapidly that his illness became terminal, and he passed away peacefully in his sleep last night."
In plain English: Terminal means something that is at the very end and cannot be fixed or continued.
"The airline announced that their terminal is undergoing renovations next week."
Usage: Use this adjective to describe conditions, illnesses, or situations that are inevitably fatal and cannot be reversed. It is often applied specifically to diseases like cancer rather than general bad outcomes.
Terminal comes from the Late Latin word terminalis, which meant pertaining to a boundary or an end. This traces back further to the Latin noun terminus, meaning a bound, limit, or finish.