Source

File: wp-includes/taxonomy.php

function get_term_by( $field, $value, $taxonomy = '', $output = OBJECT, $filter = 'raw' ) {

	// 'term_taxonomy_id' lookups don't require taxonomy checks.
	if ( 'term_taxonomy_id' !== $field && ! taxonomy_exists( $taxonomy ) ) {
		return false;
	}

	// No need to perform a query for empty 'slug' or 'name'.
	if ( 'slug' === $field || 'name' === $field ) {
		$value = (string) $value;

		if ( 0 === strlen( $value ) ) {
			return false;
		}
	}

	if ( 'id' === $field || 'ID' === $field || 'term_id' === $field ) {
		$term = get_term( (int) $value, $taxonomy, $output, $filter );
		if ( is_wp_error( $term ) || null === $term ) {
			$term = false;
		}
		return $term;
	}

	$args = array(
		'get'                    => 'all',
		'number'                 => 1,
		'taxonomy'               => $taxonomy,
		'update_term_meta_cache' => false,
		'orderby'                => 'none',
		'suppress_filter'        => true,
	);

	switch ( $field ) {
		case 'slug':
			$args['slug'] = $value;
			break;
		case 'name':
			$args['name'] = $value;
			break;
		case 'term_taxonomy_id':
			$args['term_taxonomy_id'] = $value;
			unset( $args['taxonomy'] );
			break;
		default:
			return false;
	}

	$terms = get_terms( $args );
	if ( is_wp_error( $terms ) || empty( $terms ) ) {
		return false;
	}

	$term = array_shift( $terms );

	// In the case of 'term_taxonomy_id', override the provided `$taxonomy` with whatever we find in the DB.
	if ( 'term_taxonomy_id' === $field ) {
		$taxonomy = $term->taxonomy;
	}

	return get_term( $term, $taxonomy, $output, $filter );
}