These (and others listed on each page) are all called "splitters": >
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> How should their *descriptions* differentiate their topologies
> from each other?
>
> E.g., I assume the first group are literally a "wire with connectors"
> whereas the latter are actual networks.
>
> (And, how does a "tap" differ from the above?)
For me, a "tap" does split off some signal, but the implication is that you can add a tap to a working system without making any further change to the original system, while a "splitter" is something put in when the original system was put together.
There's bound to be an upper limit on the number of taps a system can support. There certainly was on the original Ethernet, which also had "bridges".