An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

1) Forming or found at the extreme point or limit of something, or relating to the very end of something.
2) Computers: An input/output device having a keyboard for communicating with a computer and usually a display.

M.E., from L. terminalis "pertaining to a boundary or end, final," from terminus "end, boundary line," → term.

Pâyâni, pâyâné, noun and adj. from pâyân "end, extremity; limit, boundary," from pâ(y) "foot; step" (Mid.Pers. pâd, pây; Av. pad- "foot;" cf. Skt. pat; Gk. pos, genitive podos; L. pes, genitive pedis; P.Gmc. *fot; E. foot; Ger. Fuss; Fr. pied; PIE *pod-/*ped-).

The locus of stars on the → Hertzsprung-Russell diagram that are at the point of exhausting hydrogen in their cores. TAMS forms the upper luminosity boundary of the → main sequence strip. See also → zero age main sequence (ZAMS).

→ terminal; → age; → main; → sequence.

1) The constant maximum velocity reached by a body falling under gravity through a liquid or gas, especially the atmosphere. The body ceases to accelerate downward because the force of gravity is equal to the opposing force of resistance by the medium.
2) The velocity acquired at the end of a body's motion.
3) The velocity attained by → stellar wind at very large distance from the star. The material that escapes from the outer layers of the stars is accelerated outward from a small radial velocity at the → photosphere of the star, to some high velocity at large distance from the star. The theory of → radiation-driven winds predicts that the terminal velocity scales with the → escape velocity as: v_∞  ≅ 2-3 v_esc. The winds of hot → O stars experience fast acceleration and reach 80% of their terminal velocity near the star (some 3 R_*). The terminal velocity ranges from about 10 km s^-1 for a cool → supergiant star to 3000 km s^-1 for a luminous hot star. Terminal velocities are quite accurately measured from the violet trough of saturated → P Cygni line profiles in the ultraviolet (mainly N V λ1239, C IV λ1548, Si IV λ1394).

→ terminal; → velocity.