Classes

How to spell classes

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce classes

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does classes mean?

1. nounMore than one group of students taught together, or more than one category or division of things or people.
2. verbAssigns a person or thing to a particular category or rank.

Classes in a sentence

• noun

  The evening classes at the college are fully booked this term.

• verb

  The airline classes this seat as economy rather than premium.

• noun

  The gym offers several fitness classes each week.

• verb

  The council classes the building as a protected historic site.

Where does classes come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin classis, which originally named one of the divisions into which the Roman state was sorted for taxation and military service, so the core idea was always a 'group ranked together'. English took it up in the early 1600s, partly through French classe, first meaning a division of people or things and soon afterwards a group of students taught together. From that schoolroom sense grew the modern meanings of social rank, biological grouping, and general quality or category. The plural and verb forms simply add -es because the singular already ends in the hissing -ss sound, and that doubled s is the small spelling point worth noticing. The same Latin root survives in 'classic' and 'classify', all sharing the notion of sorting into ranked sets.

How the word is built

• class (group, category)
• -es (plural / third-person verb suffix)