Term
Term
In common English usage the word “term”‘ is syntactical or semantical in character, and means simply a word (or phrase), or a word associated with its meaning. The phrase “undefined term” as used in mathematical postulate theory (see mathematics) is perhips best referred to this common meaning of “term ” In traditional logic, a term is a concept appearing as subject or predicate (q.v.). of a categorical proposition; also, a word or phrase denoting such a concept. The word “term” has also been employed in a syntactical sense in various special developments of logistic systems (q.v.), usually in a way suggested by the traditional usage.
The mathematical use of the word “term” appears in such phrases ts “the terms of a sum” (i.e., the separate numbers which are added to form the sum, or the expressions for them), “the terms of a polynomial,” “the terms of a proportion,” “the terms of an infinite series,” etc. Similarly one may speak of “the terms of a logical sum,” and the like. — A.C.