What is a term?

a term is either a single number or variable, or the product of several numbers or variables separated from another term by a + or - sign in an overall expression. For example, in 3 + 4x + 5yzw 3, 4x, and 5yzw are all terms. -wikipedia


But it says either a single number...or the product of the several numbers.


So does that mean that 4 is a term, x is a term, and y,z,and w are also terms? In that case how does it affect things like the associative property, does it not allow for an anarchic rewriting of the original expression?

the 5xyz etc are all terms as is the 4
the individual components of each term are either constants such as the 5 or variables like the x

if you have studied polynomials then you are familiar with the expression terms in a polynomial

However, as can be seen hereArithmetic and Geometric Sequences

a term can be a combination of elements...

But what would make the elements of a term not terms too? Or are they terms?