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classification

 [klas-uh-fi-key-shuhn]   Origin

clas·si·fi·ca·tion

   [klas-uh-fi-key-shuhn]
noun
1.
the act of classifying.
2.
the result of classifying or being classified.
3.
one of the groups or classes into which things may be or have been classified.
4.
Biology. the assignment of organisms to groups within a system of categories distinguished by structure, origin, etc. The usual series of categories is phylum (or, especially in botany, division), class, order, family, genus, species, and variety.
5.
the category, as restricted, confidential, secret, or top secret, to which information, a document, etc., is assigned, as by a government or military agency, based on the degree of protection considered necessary to safeguard it from unauthorized use.
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6.
Library Science. any of various systems for arranging books and other materials, especially according to subject or format.
COLLAPSE
Origin:
1780–90; < Latin classi(s) class + -fication

Related forms
clas·si·fi·ca·to·ry  [kluh-sif-i-kuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, klas-uh-fi- or, especially Brit., klas-uh-fi-key-tuh-ree] , adjective
cla·si·fi·ca·to·ri·ly, adverb
clas·si·fi·ca·tion·al, adjective
mis·clas·si·fi·ca·tion, noun
non·clas·si·fi·ca·tion, noun
EXPAND
o·ver·clas·si·fi·ca·tion, noun
pre·clas·si·fi·ca·tion, noun
COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Classification is always a great word to know.
So is clone. Does it mean:
a cell or organism that is genetically identical to the individual from which it was derived
the colloidal and liquid substance of which cells are formed, the cytoplasm and nucleus: no longer in technical use
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Collins
World English Dictionary
classification (ˌklæsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən)
 
—n
1.  systematic placement in categories
2.  one of the divisions in a system of classifying
3.  biology
 a.  the placing of animals and plants in a series of increasingly specialized groups because of similarities in structure, origin, molecular composition, etc, that indicate a common relationship. The major groups are domain or superkingdom, kingdom, phylum (in animals) or division (in plants), class, order, family, genus, and species
 b.  the study of the principles and practice of this process; taxonomy
4.  government the designation of an item of information as being secret and not available to people outside a restricted group
 
[C18: from French; see class, -ify, -ation]
 
classifi'cational
 
—adj
 
classifi'catory
 
—adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

classification
see classify.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

classification clas·si·fi·ca·tion (klās'ə-fĭ-kā'shən)
n.

  1. A systematic arrangement into classes or groups.

  2. The systematic grouping of organisms into categories on the basis of evolutionary or structural relationships between them; taxonomy.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
classification   (klās'ə-fĭ-kā'shən)  Pronunciation Key 
The systematic grouping of organisms according to the structural or evolutionary relationships among them. Organisms are normally classified by observed similarities in their body and cell structure or by evolutionary relationships based on the analysis of sequences of their DNA. See more at cladistics, Linnean. See Table at taxonomy.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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