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E.g., is the following sentence ok?

We term this prompting technique as SuperPrompting.

If not, how can one use the verb term in this case?

I believe one could use:

This prompting technique is termed SuperPrompting.

However, I'd like to convey the meaning that the term was defined by us.

I know one could use another verb, e.g.:

We refer to this prompting technique as SuperPrompting.

but I am curious about the use of the verb term.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/term mentions that term can be used a verb, but only one example is given:

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Franck Dernoncourt
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    Refer to needs as, but term doesn't (as in the example "...is termed a pony". – Kate Bunting Mar 14 '24 at 09:13
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    It's fine, but you need to remove the word "as". It shouldn't be there. We term X Y, or X is termed Y. No "as". – Billy Kerr Mar 14 '24 at 11:50
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    Both of the first two examples are idiomatic. As a native english speaker I would understand both, and your first example points out that it's you that is calling the technique SuperPrompting. – Cullub Mar 14 '24 at 16:29

4 Answers4

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I would use "term" as a quoting verb, with direct speech marks. So it would be possible to say:

We term this technique, "SuperPrompting".

James K
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Most idiomatic would be to say "We call this [X]".

We call this cordate or heart-shaped.

[from Common-Sense Botany]

term is far more often found in passive constructions: X is termed Y.

Technically, a horse that is smaller than 1.5 metres at the shoulder is termed a pony.

Cambridge Dictionary

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/termed

TimR
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... However, I'd like to convey the meaning that the term was defined by us.

It looks like you intend to "coin a new term" in a research setting; this is a somewhat niche subject and may make it difficult to define the idiomatic way of doing so, but I think something like the following would sound most natural to my ear:

We propose the term "SuperPrompting" for this prompting technique.

This clearly conveys the fact that you are coining the term yourself (rather than using some jargon previously defined elsewhere in your research area).

DotCounter
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"Term" is, strictly speaking, a noun. So in formal speech or writing, you shouldn't say, "We term this ..." You should say, "We call this by the term ..." or "The term [whatever] is used to describe this" or some such wording.

In casual speech, English speakers sometimes use nouns as verbs. "I googled this", "We lunched together", etc. So in more casual speech, to say, "We term this X" or "This is termed X" is acceptable.

Verbing a noun is common. (Hee hee!)

Jay
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  • Thanks, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/term mentions that term can be used a verb: https://i.stack.imgur.com/VYlbC.png – Franck Dernoncourt Mar 14 '24 at 01:38
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    @FranckDernoncourt It looks like the verb usage of "term" can indeed take an agent, but that this usage was much more common in the past than it is now. Source: Google Ngrams result for "termed by": https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=termed+by&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=3 – Quack E. Duck Mar 14 '24 at 03:43
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    Doing a search for the active voice of the same verb, with subject "we" (as in your question), I get this: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=we+term&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=3 It also has a peak in usage around the mid-1800s. It seems like it (as well as the passive construction) both still see significant usage up to the current time. So, I'd say go ahead and use it, just without the word "as." "We term X Y," not "We term X as Y." I believe that means "term" is a ditransitive verb and takes both a direct object (X) and an object complement (Y). – Quack E. Duck Mar 14 '24 at 03:48
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    @FranckDernoncourt I checked several dictionaries and all listed "term" as a noun only. I don't doubt that there are dictionaries that say it can be used as a verb, as people do this enough in practice. What I was trying to say was, it hasn't reached the level of acceptance to be used in formal writing, but it's understood enough to be used in casual speech or writing with no problem. If you want to argue that it is indeed suitable for formal speech ... that would be difficult to "prove" one way or the other. Maybe we could resort to some really authoritative dictionary like OED. – Jay Mar 15 '24 at 00:56
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    @Jay Point taken, thanks! (I had upvoted your answer btw) – Franck Dernoncourt Mar 15 '24 at 01:27