catalog

or cat·a·logue

[ kat-l-awg, -og ]

noun

1. a list or record, as of items for sale or courses at a university, systematically arranged and often including descriptive material:

   a stamp catalog.

   Synonyms: record, register, roster

2. something that contains such a list or record, as a book, leaflet, or file.
3. a list of the contents of a library or a group of libraries, arranged according to any of various systems. Compare card catalog, online catalog, union catalog.

   Synonyms: record, register, roster

4. any list or record:

   a catalog of complaints.

verb (used with object)

, cat·a·loged or cat·a·logued, cat·a·log·ing or cat·a·logu·ing.

1. to enter (items) in a catalog; make a catalog of.

verb (used without object)

, cat·a·loged or cat·a·logued, cat·a·log·ing or cat·a·logu·ing.

1. to produce a catalog.
2. to have a specified price as listed in a catalog:

   This model catalogs for $49.95.

3. to offer merchandise in a mail-order catalog.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or carrying on business through a mail-order catalog:

   catalog sales.

Other Words From

• cata·loger cata·loguer cata·logist cata·loguist noun
• cat·a·log·ic [kat-l-, oj, -ik], cata·logi·cal cat·a·lo·gis·tic [kat-l-oh-, jis, -tik], adjective
• mis·cata·log mis·cata·logue verb (used with object) miscataloged or miscatalogued miscataloging or miscataloguing
• non·cata·log non·cata·logue adjective
• re·cata·log verb (used with object) recataloged or recataogued recataloging or recataloguing

Word History and Origins

Origin of catalog¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English cataloge, from Late Latin catalogus, from Greek katálogos “a register” (akin to katalégein “to count up”), equivalent to kata- “down, against, back” + -logos reckoning; cata-

Synonym Study

See list ¹.

Example Sentences

As he once told Brassai, the Gagosian exhibition catalog states, “I want to leave as complete a record as possible for posterity.”

From The Daily Beast

Phones on desks, linens on beds, catalog cards spilling out of the filing cabinets—all covered with a fine patina of dust.

From The Daily Beast

To do so would be to catalog a series of Brazilian defensive horrors, each of which was castigated by the Germans.

From The Daily Beast

He has amassed an enormous back catalog of inflammatory comments on matters ranging from women to the “demonic” movie Avatar.

From The Daily Beast

An exhibition catalog, published by Yale University Press, is available for purchase.

From The Daily Beast

The Copyright Office welcomes inquiries, suggestions, and comments on the content and organization of the Catalog.

From Project Gutenberg

The following list includes abbreviations and symbols used in this catalog with specific copyright or bibliographic meanings.

From Project Gutenberg

The burden upon the memory that this elaborate system of old must have entailed is now transferred to the card catalog.

From Project Gutenberg

Any subject that needed to be kept track of could be thus securely noted in the card catalog.

From Project Gutenberg

All of these card-catalog and other "devices" are a part of a great movement to put efficiency into every human industry.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• book
• catalogue
• file
• inventory
• list
• prospectus