sortiert

Sortiert is the past participle of the German verb sortieren and is used as an adjective to describe things that have been arranged in a specific order. It can refer to data, lists, or collections that have been organized according to a criterion, such as alphabetical, numerical, or chronological order.

Etymology: The word sortieren originates from the notion of sorting items into groups or categories. Its exact linguistic roots trace to historical European languages and the concept of separating elements by a rule. In modern German, sortiert is commonly paired with nouns like Liste, Daten, Ergebnisse, or Sammlung.

In computing and data handling, sortiert signals that a sequence has been ordered by a comparison function. A sort operation rearranges elements to produce an ascending or descending sequence. In software, data described as sortiert is typically the input or output of sorting algorithms such as quicksort, mergesort, or heapsort. The term can also contrast with unsortiert (unsorted) or schon sortiert (already sorted).

In everyday language, sortiert can describe a well-arranged arrangement of objects, a well-ordered system, or a methodically organized approach. It is often used in contexts like research data, inventories, or catalogs to indicate that items are in a defined order.