The special feature of a term is that even though it may have a general meaning in our day to day life, it is different from the meaning with which it is associated in a particular discipline. A term can be used to express an idea, an abstract thought, an object, a concept, etc. For example, in disciplines such as sociology, psychology, biology, geography, there are terms that convey a unique meaning to the user. A term is a particular definition of a word, which is applicable to a special situation. All terms are words, but not all words are terms. It has a special meaning in a specific context.Ī term can simply be understood as a word. However, a term does not have this characteristic. When we say culture, value, crime, girl, animal, all these words have a universal meaning to the reader. This can be a single word or else a combination of words. However, a term does not always carry the same meaning.
These always carry a meaning that is understood by the majority, making the meaning almost universal to the speaker.
However, we must pay attention to the grammatical rules that apply to language when creating sentences. When a number of words are put together, they create a sentence. Unlike morphemes that may or may not be able to stand alone, words can always make sense even in isolation. Words are made up of morphemes that are the smallest elements of a language. What is a Word?Ī word can be defined as a complete meaningful element of a language. Through this article let us examine the differences between a word and a term. However, a term goes a step further it acquires a special meaning in a special situation. This highlights that words have a general meaning, which applies to our day to day understanding. The relationship between a word and a term can simply be understood in the following manner. Hence, these two cannot be used interchangeably. A term, on the other hand, is a word but has a particular meaning in a situation. However, a word is a meaningful element in a language. Most of us do not give much thought to the difference between term and word and use them interchangeably.