Categorisation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The procedure of organizing items into designated classifications according to their similarities
2. The process of arranging items or concepts into groups based on shared features
3. An action that involves grouping elements according to defined criteria or characteristics

Etymology: Ancient Greek "katēgoria" meant an accusation or charge, built from "kata" (against) and "agoreuein" (to speak in the assembly). Aristotle later turned it into a technical term for the highest kinds of things that can be said of anything, such as substance, quantity and quality. Medieval Latin writers carried the Greek term into Latin as "categoria," and it came into English as "category" in the Middle English period, borrowed through Old French. "Categorisation" is simply "category" with the suffix "-isation," which turns a verb-like action into a noun for the process or result. The suffix passed into English through Old French from Latin "-ātiō," so the word describes the act of sorting things into groups, and the result of that sorting.

Synonyms: classification, organization, arrangement, systematization, sorting

Antonyms: disorganization, chaos, confusion, disorder, dismantling