Term (mathematics)

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A term is any value (variable or constant) separated by a + or - sign in an 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 + 4x + 5yzw

3, 4x, and 5yzw 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, 4x is bounded by plus signs.

Binomials, trinomials, and series may all have terms.

References

See also

• divisor, meaning, expression, arithmetics.

 

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