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2.2 The characteristics of the term.
In terminology science it is more often said that it is
impossible to define a term but it is possible to give a list of its
features.
1. A term is a sign. We can’t say that term is a word because
there are word combinations (price elasticity – еластичні ціни,
enterprise life circle – життєвий цикл підприємства, well
flowing life – період фонтанної експлуатації свердловини),
abbreviations (MMDA (money market deposit account) –
депозитний рахунок грошового ринку, ACRS (accelerated cost
recovery system) – система прискореної амортизації
обладнання та споруд) even phrases (God is dead (Бог помер)–
a widely quoted statement by German philosopher Friedrich
Nietzsche, conveys his view that the Christian God is no longer a
credible source of absolute moral principles; do, dico, addico (я
виношу рішення, я тлумачу закон, я виконую закон) – I give, I
say, I adjudge, three words used in the Romanlaw, to express the
extent of the civil jurisdiction of the praetor; dura lex, sed lex
(закон суворий, але це закон) – a tough law, but it is the law), or
word units with mathematical figures (A.M.9 – рідка суміш
акрилових мономерів, 17" monitor – 17 дюймовий монітор,
50% end point lethal aerosol dose – аерозольная доза 50%
летальности). That’s why it is better to say that a term is a sign
of language nature.
2. The term posseses all linguistic features i.e. it has sounding
and morphological forms. Like words, they have a systematic side
(formal, semantic, and functional) since they are units of an
established code; they also have a pragmatic side, because they are
units used in specialized communication to refer to the objects of
the real world. Terms do not seem to be very different from words
when we consider them from the formal or semantic point of view;
they differ from words when we consider them as pragmatic and
communicative units.

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