argumentation theory Argumentation theory is the interdisciplinary study of how conclusions can be supported or undermined by premises through logical reasoning. With historical origins in logic, dialectic, and rhetoric, argumentation theory includes the arts and scie ...

, a term (or notion) is that part of a statement in an argument which refers to a specific thing. A term is usually, but not always expressed as a

noun In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...

. According to ''Essentials of Logic'', the word is derived from the Latin "terminus." One of the requirements to informally prove a conclusion with a

deductive argument Deductive reasoning is the process of drawing valid inferences. An inference is valid if its conclusion follows logically from its premises, meaning that it is impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion to be false. For example, th ...

is for all its terms to be used unambiguously. The ambiguous use of a term in a deductive argument may be an instance of the fallacy of four terms.

References

Concepts in logic Term logic {{logic-stub