A terminal can also be a hardware device with a keyboard and monitor that is hooked up to a computer through a serial port. I used to have a VT102 hooked up to my Linux system at one point (it's in storage now).
If people just made sure to use the correct vocabulary, the issue would be a non-issue. I doubt there is a single person out there that 1) might encounter a terminal emulator, and 2) doesn't get that a VT102 actually existed from the name terminal emulator.
You have laymen with emulators on their telephones. It shouldn't be a hard concept to teach.
