Types of Terms - Philosophy

Types of Terms 

Philosophy

Logic makes a clear distinction between 'word' and 'term'. All words are not terms, but all terms are words. Terms, unlike words refer to classes of objects or qualities e.g. plants, planets etc. Terms may consist of more than one word e.g. The author of The Da Vinci Code is a term which consists of four words. There are mainly 5 types of terms:

1. Univocal and Equivocal terms: Terms that carry only one meaning vs terms that carry two or more meanings.
2. Relative and Absolute: Terms that express a relation between two or more things or persons vs terms that don't express any relation.
3. Singular and General: Singular terms point to a single object whereas general terms refer to a class of objects.
4. Positive and Negative: Positive terms signify the presence of desirable qualities whereas negative terms signify the presence of undesirable qualities. However, what is positive and what is negative is a matter of value judgment.
5. Concrete and Abstract: Concrete terms are perceptible whereas abstract terms are not. However, this classification depends upon its usage.