TERM (MATHEMATICS)

A term is any value (variable or constant) or expression separated from another term by a + or - sign in an overall expression.
In elementary mathematics, a 'term' is either a single number or variable, or the product of several numbers and/or variables. For example, in
:3 + 4''x'' + 5''yzw''
3, 4''x'', and 5''yzw'' are all terms. This definition does not cover all usages in more advanced mathematics. Often ''term'' is used of a monomial with a coefficient: to 'collect like terms' in a polynomial is the basic operation of making it a linear combination of distinct monomials.
The word "term" is from the Latin ''terminus'' "boundary line, limit", from the Indo-European root ''ter-'' "peg, post, boundary". ''Terminus'' eventually came to mean "something bounded" rather than its boundary; so ''term'' acquired the meaning of a member of a collection of things with clear boundaries. In the above example, 4''x'' is bounded by plus signs.
Binomials, trinomials, and series may all have terms.

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References

★ The words of mathematics: An etymological dictionary of mathematical terms used in English, , Steven, Schwartzman, The Mathematical Association of America, 1994, ISBN 0-88385-511-9

See also

★ divisor, meaning, expression, arithmetics.