categorical [kat-i-gawr -i-kuh l, -gor -] SYNONYMS | WORD ORIGIN
adjective without exceptions or conditions; absolute; unqualified and unconditional: a categorical denial.
Logic (of a proposition) analyzable into a subject and an attribute related by a copula, as in the proposition “All humans are mortal.” (of a syllogism) having categorical propositions as premises. Also cat·e·gor·ic .
Origin of categorical 1590–1600; <
Late Latin catēgoric(us ) (<
Greek katēgorikós; see
category ,
-ic ) +
-al1 Related forms cat·e·gor·i·cal·ly , adverb cat·e·gor·i·cal·ness , noun non·cat·e·gor·i·cal , adjective non·cat·e·gor·i·cal·ly , adverb non·cat·e·gor·i·cal·ness , noun un·cat·e·gor·i·cal , adjective un·cat·e·gor·i·cal·ly , adverb un·cat·e·gor·i·cal·ness , noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for uncategorical adjective unqualified; positive; unconditional a categorical statement
relating to or included in a category
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Derived Forms categorically , adverb categoricalness , noun Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for uncategorical adj. 1590s, as a term in logic, "unqualified, asserting absolutely," from Late Latin categoricus , from Greek kategorikos "accusatory, affirmative, categorical," from kategoria (see category ). General sense of "explicit, unconditional" is from 1610s. Categorical imperative , from the philosophy of Kant, first recorded 1827. Related: Categorically .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
