word class

American  

noun

Grammar.

word classes plural

1. a group of words all of which are members of the same form class or part of speech.

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word class British  

noun

1. linguistics a form class in which the members are words See part of speech

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• word classes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of word class

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

word class

They are tossing around the word class, as in middle class, in total defiance of the venerable cliche: class is America's "dirty little secret," anything really dirty being, in our culture, not exactly a secret.

From Time Magazine Archive

I know you don't like that word "class," but please don't think I am using it snobbishly.

From Mistress Anne by Wilson, F. Vaux (Francis Vaux)

It would be more logical to reverse the proposition, and turn it into a definition of the word class: "A class is the indefinite multitude of individuals denoted by a general name."

From A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive 7th Edition, Vol. I by Mill, John Stuart

In this last acceptation of the word, class name and general name are identical.

From A System Of Logic, Ratiocinative And Inductive by Mill, John Stuart

The word class has been used, but perhaps improperly, for classification is almost impossible.

From A Short History of French Literature by Saintsbury, George