terminal 1. (hardware) An electronic or electromechanical device for entering data into a computer or a communications system and displaying data received. Early terminals were called teletypes, later ones VDUs. Typically a terminal communicates with the computer via a serial line.
2. (electronics) The end of a line where signals are either transmitted or received, or a point along the length of a line where the signals are made available to apparatus. 3. (electronics) Apparatus to send and/or receive signals on a line. Last updated: 1995-10-02
