terminus

Terminus is a noun meaning the end point or final boundary of something. It derives from the Latin terminus, meaning boundary or end, and is used across disciplines to denote the farthest point of a route, the outer limit of a region, or the end of a structure. In general English, it can describe the last stop on a transportation line or the point at which a process or object concludes.

In transportation, a terminus (plural termini) is the final stop or station on a transit line, such as a bus, tram, or railway route. It may house a depot, serve as a major interchange, or simply mark the route’s end within a city. The term is common in timetable descriptions and planning documents.

In geography and civil planning, terminus can indicate the outer limit of an area or the terminating point of a feature. It is also used in historical or cartographic contexts to describe boundaries or endpoints of territories.

In biology and anatomy, terminus denotes the end point of a structure or molecule. Examples include the terminus of a nerve fiber, often referred to as the axon terminus or terminal, and the 3' or 5' terminus of a nucleic acid strand. In genetics and molecular biology, the term helps describe endpoints critical for orientation and function, alongside related terms such as terminator.

See also terminus in disambiguation for other specialized uses. The word is standard in technical writing and formal descriptions, though it is less common in casual speech than the more everyday term terminal.