Final answer:
A variable whose meaning is confined to an object of a class is called an instance variable. These are specific to each object created from a class and represent the object's unique properties. Class variables are shared across all instances and represent common properties.
Step-by-step explanation:
A variable whose meaning is confined to an object of a class is commonly referred to as an instance variable. In object-oriented programming (OOP), classes define the blueprint for objects, and instance variables represent the state of each object created from a class. For example, if we have a class 'Car,' each car object might have instance variables like 'color' and 'make,' which hold values specific to each individual car.
Instance variables are different from class variables which are shared across all instances of a class. To illustrate, the class variable could be 'number_of_wheels' for the 'Car' class, which would typically be set to four and shared by all car objects. In contrast, instance variables such as 'color' and 'make' can vary for each object, representing unique properties.
To help understand these concepts better, you might think of a class as a template for a form, where class variables are common to all forms, and instance variables are the individual responses that differ on each completed form.