By "path" I mean a route that has been walked by.
The best I could come out with is starting point and ending point.
Is there a shorter way to refer to them?
(Maybe end points?)
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2Yes, end points, or just ends if they are at the ends of the route; maybe even termini: the last or final part or point; either end of a railway, bus route, etc, or a station or town at such a point; a goal aimed for ... (Collins) – Kris Oct 22 '13 at 14:41
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beginning & end – Kristina Lopez Oct 22 '13 at 14:42
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not sure of your exact usage needs, but the start and finish or from start to finish (if you really are getting at what happens all along the path) might fit, or just both ends of the path – Jim Oct 22 '13 at 14:56
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Source & Destination - These words are often used in computer science to refer to the starting and ending nodes of a path. – Vivek Oct 22 '13 at 16:27
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Maybe (or maybe not) duplicate of Word for an Origin and Destination without regard for route and also see A word for the beginning of a street? – James Waldby - jwpat7 Oct 22 '13 at 17:57
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If you simply said the ends of a path, I think most people would understand that to encompass each end.
Starting and ending points assume a directionality, which may or may not be what you intend.
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You could refer to them as terminal points or just terminals if you want something shorter.
Some transit systems refer to the train stop at the end of a line as the Terminal station, meaning that there are no more stations after this point, and the train just turns around and goes back the other way.
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1Or you could use the Latin word terminus (pl termini, if you want to be fussy), which refers to either end of a line or path. The starting point is the terminus a quo 'terminus from which' and the ending point is the terminus ad quem 'terminus toward which'. – John Lawler Oct 22 '13 at 16:08