Categorize

Categorize is a verb meaning to arrange items into categories or classes based on shared attributes. The noun category refers to any of the groups into which things are sorted. The term categorize derives from the noun category, which in turn comes from Latin categoria and Greek katēgoria, reflecting its long history in logic, science, and everyday organization.

In practical use, categorization is a form of classification but differs in emphasis. Categorization emphasizes grouping by similarities, while classification can imply a formal, often hierarchical scheme used in science and documentation. Categories can be broad or narrow and may be subjective, context-dependent, or culturally influenced.

Methods for categorization include rule-based approaches, where experts define criteria, and statistical or machine learning methods, including supervised classification and unsupervised clustering. Taxonomies, ontologies, and metadata schemas are common tools to structure categories and support retrieval, interoperability, and analysis.

Applications span libraries, information systems, e-commerce, biology, and data science. Examples include classifying books by genre, emails by topic, products by category, or plant species in biology. Challenges involve ambiguity, overfitting or underfitting categories, choosing appropriate granularity, and evolving knowledge; ongoing refinement and validation, such as inter-rater reliability, help maintain consistency.