Tracing the origin of the term "Combiners". It starts with g1 tech specs where "Combines with x to form x" was a standard phrase. Although as you can see from Hot Spot's bio it wasn't universal. There's no universal term for them in G1 at all #transformers (1/10)
There are a few official terms for certain kinds of combiners in Generation 1. "Special Teams" Appears to have been the intended term for the scramble-style combiners in the US, and was used extensively in the UK. #transformers (2/10)