term of art

English

Noun

term of art (plural terms of art)

1. A word or phrase whose use or meaning is specific to a particular field of endeavor.

   Synonym: technical term

   • 1975, “United States v. ITT Continental Baking Co.”, in United States Supreme Court Reports, Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company, page 168:

     The opinion in United States v du Pont does not, in any event, render the term "acquiring" in a consent decree a term of art. The Court fails to explain how its opinion there has served to transform the plain term "acquiring" into a "term of art" that would, by common understanding, have the meaning that the Court today ascribes to it.

   • 2001, Bernard E. Harcourt, chapter 5, in Illusion of Order:

     "Juridical power" is a term of art for Foucault. It corresponds to the model of sovereignty and sovereign rights developed during the Renaissance period.

Translations

term specific to a particular field — see technical term

See also

• argot
• cant
• jargon
• lingo

Anagrams

• formatter