The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
Terminal Adaptor
TA
terminal adapter
(TA) Equipment used to adapt
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) Basic Rate
Interface (BRI) channels to existing terminal equipment
standards such as EIA-232 and V.35. A Terminal Adaptor is
typically packaged like a modem, either as a stand-alone
unit or as an interface card that plugs into a computer or
other communications equipment (such as a router or PBX).
A Terminal Adaptor does not interoperate with a modem; it
replaces it.
[ISDN FAQ].
(1994-10-03)