Classification

How to spell classification

14 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce classification

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does classification mean?

1. nounThe arrangement of people, things, or information into groups according to shared characteristics.

Classification in a sentence

• The librarian explained the classification system used to shelve the books.

• The report includes a clear classification of customers by age and income.

Where does classification come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin classis, which originally named one of the property-based divisions into which Roman citizens were sorted for taxation and military service. From that idea of an ordered group came the verb-building element seen in classificare, joining classis with facere, meaning 'to make' or 'to do', so the literal sense is 'to make into classes'. The noun arrived in English in the early 1700s, largely through French classification, as naturalists and scholars began systematically arranging plants, animals, and ideas into ranked categories. The same classis root sits inside the everyday words 'class' and 'classic', which helps explain the double 's' that catches people out. A useful memory hook is that the spelling keeps the whole word 'class' intact before the -ification ending.

How the word is built

• classi- (from Latin classis: a group or division)
• -fic- (from facere: to make)
• -ation (noun-forming suffix)