category
nouncommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˈkæt.ɪ.ɡ(ə.)ɹi//
- Canada//ˈkæt.ɪˌɡoɹ.i//
- Canada/[ˈkʰæɾ.ɪˌɡoɹ.i]/
- Canada//ˈkæt.əˌɡoɹ.i//
- Canada/[ˈkʰæɾ.əˌɡoɹ.i]/
A group, often named or numbered, to which items are assigned based on similarity or defined criteria.
noun
- 1
A group, often named or numbered, to which items are assigned based on similarity or defined criteria.
This steep and dangerous climb belongs to the most difficult category.
I wouldn’t put this book in the same category as the author’s first novel.
The traditional way of describing the similarities and differences between constituents is to say that they belong to categories of various types. Thus, words like boy, girl, man, woman, etc. are traditionally said to belong to the category of Nouns, whereas words like a, the, this, and that are traditionally said to belong to the category of Determiners.
- 2
A collection of objects, together with a transitively closed collection of composable arrows between them, such that every object has an identity arrow, and such that arrow composition is associative.
One well-known category has sets as objects and functions as arrows.
The use of the word ‘factor’ shows the explicit intention of categorists to work with functions in an algebraic manner: a category is an algebra of functions.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥-th₂der.? Proto-Hellenic *kətá Ancient Greek κᾰτᾰ́ (kătắ) Ancient Greek κᾰτᾰ- (kătă-) Proto-Indo-European *h₂ger- Proto-Indo-European *h₂goréh₂ Proto-Hellenic *agorā́ Ancient Greek ᾰ̓γορᾱ́ (ăgorā́) Pre-Greekder.? Ancient Greek -εύς (-eús) Ancient Greek -εύω (-eúō) Ancient Greek ἀγορεύω (agoreúō) Ancient Greek κᾰτήγορος (kătḗgoros) Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *-eyéti Proto-Indo-European *-esyéti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Ancient Greek -έω (-éō) Ancient Greek κᾰτηγορέω (kătēgoréō) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek κᾰτηγορῐ́ᾱ (kătēgorĭ́ā)bor. Late Latin catēgoriader. Middle French categorie French catégoriebor. Middle English English category Late Middle English, borrowed from French catégorie, from Middle French categorie, from Late Latin catēgoria (“class of predicables”), from Ancient Greek κατηγορία (katēgoría, “head of predicables”). Doublet of categoria.
Forms
- plural
- categories
category · A group, often named or numbered, to which items are assigned based on similarity or defined criteria.
caterer · A person employed to obtain and maintain the storage of…catering · The business of providing food and related services;…caterpillar · The larva of a butterfly or moth; leafworm.