In atomic physics, a term symbol is an abbreviated description of the total spin and orbital angular momentum quantum numbers of the electrons in a multi-electron atom. So while the word symbol suggests otherwise, it represents an actual value of a physical quantity.
For a given electron configuration of an atom, its state depends also on its total angular momentum, including spin and orbital components, which are specified by the term symbol. The usual atomic term symbols assume LS coupling (also known as Russell–Saunders coupling) in which the all-electron total quantum numbers for orbital (L), spin (S) and total (J) angular momenta are good quantum numbers.