932 
T E R M E S. 
Condition; stipulation.—Well, on my terms thou wilt 
not be my heir ? Dryden.—[Termine, old French.] Time 
for which any thing lasts; a limited time. 
I am thy father’s spirit, 
Doom’d for a certain term to walk the night. Skakspeare. 
[In law.] The time in which the tribunals are open to all 
that list to complain of wrong, or to seek their right by course 
of law; the rest of the year is called vacation. Of these 
terms there are four in every year, during which matters of 
justice are dispatched: one is called Hilary term, which 
begins the twenty-third of January, or, if that be Sunday, 
the next day following, and ends the twenty-first of Febru¬ 
ary ; another is called Easter term, which begins eighteen 
days after Easter, and ends the Monday next after ascension 
clay; the third is Trinity term, beginning the Friday next 
after Trinity Sunday, and ending the YVednesday-fortnight 
after; the fourth is Michaelmas term, beginning the sixth of 
November, or, if that be Sunday, the next day after, and 
ending the twenty-eighth of November. Cowel. 
What are these to those vast heaps of crimes, 
Which terms prolong. Dryden. 
These terms are supposed by Mr. Selden to have been in¬ 
stituted by William the Conqueror; but SirH. Spelman hath 
shewn that they were gradually formed from the canonical 
constitutions of the church ; being no other than those leisure 
seasons of the year, which were not occupied by the great 
festivals or fasts, or which were not liable to the general 
avocations of rural business. Throughout all Christendom, 
in very early times, the whole year was one continued term 
for hearing and deciding of causes. Foqthe Christian magi¬ 
strates, in order to distinguish themselves from the Heathens, 
who were very superstitious in the observation of their dies 
fasti and ncfasti, administered justice upon all days alike; 
till at length the church interposed, and exempted certain 
holy seasons from being profaned by the tumult of forensic 
litigations; as, particularly, the time of Advent and Christ¬ 
mas, which gave rise to the winter vacation ; the time of 
Lent and Easter, which created that in the spring; the time 
of Pentecost, which produced the third and long vacation, 
between Midsummer and Michaelmas, which was allowed 
for the hay-time and harvest. All Sundays also, and some 
peculiar festivals, as the days of the Purification, Ascension, 
&c., were included in the same prohibition, which was esta¬ 
blished by a canon of the church, A. D. 517, and fortified 
by an imperial constitution of the younger Theodosius, com¬ 
prised in the Theodosian code. Afterwards, when our own 
legal constitution was established, the commencement and 
duration of our law terms were appointed, with a view to 
these canonical prohibitions; and it was ordered by the law s 
of King Edward the Confessor, that from Advent to the 
octave of the Epiphany, from Septuagesima to the octave of 
Easter, from the Ascension to the octave of Pentecost, and 
from three in the afternoon of all Saturdays till Monday 
morning, the peace of God and holy church shall be kept 
throughout the whole kingdom. 
And so extravagant was afterwards the regard paid to these 
holy times, that though the author of the Mirror mentions 
only one vacation of considerable length, containing the 
months of August and September, yet Britton says, that in 
the reign of King Edward I., no secular plea could be held, 
nor any man sworn on the Evangelists, in the time of Advent, 
Lent, Pentecost, harvest, and vintage, the days of the great 
litanies, and all solemn festivals. He adds, that the bishops 
and prelates granted dispensations for taking assizes and 
juries in some of these holy seasons, upon reasonable oc¬ 
casions; and soon alter a general dispensation was esta¬ 
blished in parliament by stat. Westm. 1. 4 Edw. 1. cap. 51, 
that assizes of novel disseisin, mort d’ancestor, and darrein 
presentment, should be taken in Advent, Septuagesima, and 
Lent, as well as inquests; at the special request of the king 
to the bishops The portions of time that were not included 
within these prohibited seasons, fell naturally into a fourfold 
division ; and from some festival or saint’s day, that imme¬ 
diately preceded their commencement, were denominated 
the terms of St. Hilary, of Easter, of the Holy Trinity, 
and of St. Michael: which terms have been since regulated 
and abbreviated by several acts of parliament; particularly 
Trinity term by stat. 32 Hen. VIII. c. 2., and Michaelmas term 
by stat. 16 Car. I. c. 6., and again by stat. 24 Geo. II. c. 38. 
B/ackst. Com. 
At Oxford, Hilary or Lent term begins January 14th, and 
ends the Saturday before Palm-Sunday. Easter term begins 
the tenth day after Easter, and ends the Thursday before 
Whitsunday. Trinity term begins the Wednesday after 
Trinity-Sunday, and ends after the act, or 6th of July, 
sooner or later, as the vice-chancellor and convocation 
please. Michaelmas term begins October 10th, and ends 
December 17th. 
At Cambridge, Lent term begins January 14th, and ends 
the Friday before Palm-Sunday. Easter term begins the 
Wednesday after Easter-week, and ends the week before 
Whitsunday. Trinity term begins the Wednesday after 
Trinity-Sunday, and ends the Friday after the commence¬ 
ment, or 2d of July. Michaelmas term begins October 10th, 
and ends December 16th. 
In Scotland, Candlemas term begins January 23d, and 
ends February 12th. Whitsuntide term begins May 25lh, 
and ends June 15th. Lammas term begins July 20th, and 
ends August 8th. Martinmas term begins November 3d, 
and ends November 29th. 
In Ireland the terms are the same as at London, except 
Michaelmas term, which begins October 13th, and adjourns 
to November 3d, and thence to the 6th. 
To TERM, v. a. To name; to call.—Men term what is 
beyond the limits of the universe imaginary space, as if no 
body existed in it. Locke. 
TE'RMAGANCY, s. Turbulence; tumultuousness.— 
By a violent termagancy of temper, she may never suffer him 
to have a moment’s peace. Barker. 
TE'RMAGANT, adj. [cyp and magan, Saxon, eminent¬ 
ly powerful .] Tumultuous; turbulent.—’Twas time to 
counterfeit, or that hot termagant Scot had paid me scot 
and lot too. Shakspcare. —Quarrelsome; scolding; furi¬ 
ous.—The eldest was a termagant, imperious, prodigal, 
profligate wench. Arbuthnot. 
TE'RMAGANT, s. A scold; a brawling turbulent 
woman. It appears to have been anciently used of men. It 
was a kind of heathen deity extremely vociferous and tumul¬ 
tuous in the ancient farces and puppet shows.—This terrible 
termagant, this Nero, this Pharaoh. Bale. —I would have 
such a fellow whipt for o’erdoing termagant; it outherod’s 
Herod. Shakspearc. —She threw his periwig into the fire: 
well, said he, thou art a brave termagant . Tatler. 
TE'RMER, s. One who travels up to the term.—Let 
the buyer beware, saith the old lawbeaten termer. Milton. 
—One that holds for a term of years or life. Cowel. 
TERMES, a small town of Turkey in Europe, in Mace- 
don, near the gulf of Salonica. 
TERMES, in Entomology, a genus of the Aptera order 
of insects. Its characters are, that it has six legs formed for 
running; two eyes; setaceous antennae, and a mouth with 
two jaws. According to Gmelin, the characters are, that the 
mouth has two horny jaws, with a horny, quadrifid lip, 
linear acute fringes, four equal filiform feelers, or palpi, 
antennae (mostly) moniliform, and two eyes. Linnaeus enu¬ 
merates three, and Gmelin eight species. 
1. Termes fatale.—Above brown ; thorax with three seg¬ 
ments; wings pallid, and costa, or rib, testaceous. This is 
the destructor of Degeer, and termes bellicosum of Smethman. 
—It is found in the shady parts of the equinoctial regions of 
India and Africa. 
2. Termes destructor.—Above testaceous; head black; 
antennae yellow.—Found in the islands opposite to South 
America, Africa, and India. 
3. Termes arda.—Black; abdomen with segments white 
at 
