<script type="text/javascript" src="/js/jquery.js"></script>
<dt id="term-1">term 1</dt>
<dt id="term-2">term 2</dt>
<dt id="term-3">term 3</dt>
$("#term-2").prevUntil("dt")
.css("background-color", "red");
var term1 = document.getElementById('term-1');
$("#term-3").prevUntil(term1, "dd")