Categories

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkætəˌɡɔɹiz/

Definitions

1. A collection of items or concepts grouped together based on shared traits for the purpose of organizing or classifying information
2. Various classifications that serve to distinguish and categorize objects or ideas according to specific criteria in a structured manner
3. A set of classifications that allow for the organization and differentiation of objects or ideas based on common characteristics or themes

Etymology: "Categories" is the plural of "category," and the word's central idea of sorting things into groups goes back to a courtroom. In ancient Greek, "katēgoria" meant an accusation or charge, built from "kata," meaning "against," and "agoreuein," meaning "to speak in the assembly" or "to speak publicly." To categorize someone was originally to accuse them. Aristotle later adapted the term into a philosophical one for the basic kinds of predicates, the ways in which anything can be described. The word passed through Late Latin "catēgoria," meaning a class of predicables, and then Middle French "categorie" before entering English in the Late Middle English period. Its meaning drifted steadily from the logic of description toward the general sense of a class or division. A "doublet" of "categoria," meaning a word with a shared origin, also exists in English, but the path from accusation to classification shows how far the term has travelled from the courtroom.

Synonyms: classes, groups, types