class 
were the orders. In the Cuvierian system a class was the 
first division of one of the four "great divisions" of the 
animal kingdom, Vertebrala, Mollutca, Ai-ticulata, anil 
Radiata; thus Cuvier's four classes of Vertebrata were 
Mammalia, Aves, Reptilia, and Pisces. There are now 
recognized seven or eight subkingdoms or phyla of ani- 
raals, divided int> about thirty-five classes (see annual 
kingdom, under animal) ; the class being the division usu- 
ally recognized next below the phylum or subkingdom, 
though some naturalists introduce a superclass, or division 
between the phylum and the class, as Jchthi/opntla for 
the classes Pisces and Amphibia, or Sauropsida for the 
classes Aixs and Reptilia. The class is always superior 
to the superorder, order, or suborder, and inferior to the 
kingdom, subkingdom, or phylum. In botany, likewise, 
the class is the next principal grade of divisions above the 
order, and in the Linnean system was the highest grade. 
The subclass, division, and cohort or alliance are, however, 
often variously intercalated as subordinate groupings be- 
tween the class and the order. The phamogamic series or 
subkingdom of plants includes the three classes of <nin<- 
nottpermx (often united with the next), dicotyledons, and 
monocotyledons. The cryptogamic series has been ordi- 
narily divided into the two classes of acrogens and thai- 
logens; by recent authorities the number has been in- 
creased by three or four or more. 
6. In geom., the degree of a locus of planes; a 
division of algebraical loci bearing an ordinal 
number showing how many planes there are 
incident to the locus and passing through each 
line of Space. In the case of a plane locus, this is the 
number of lines in the plane incident to the locus and pass- 
ing through each point in the plane. The ordinal number 
of the class of an algebraical surface is the number of tan- 
gent planes to the surface through each line of space. The 
class of an algebraical curve of double curvature is the 
number of osculating planes through each point of space ; 
also, the class of a cone on which the curve lies. The 
class of an algebraical plane curve is the number of tan- 
gents through each point of the plane. The class of a 
congruence is the number of lines of the congruence pass- 
ing through each point of space. The class of a complex 
is the class of the cone of lines of the complex passing 
through each point of space. The class of a cone Is the 
class of a plane curve lying in it. Class cup, a silver cup 
presented by a college class to the first boy born to a 
member of the class after graduation. [U. S.] Class Of 
a manifold. See manifold. 
class (Was), v. [= F. classer, etc.; from the 
noun. Cf. classify.'] I. trans. 1. To arrange in 
a class or classes ; rank together ; regard as con- 
stituting a class ; refer to a class or group ; clas- 
sify; range. 
We are all ranked and classed by Him who seeth into 
every heart. Dr. Blair. 
Is consciousness an abstraction? Is anything further 
off from abstractions, or more impossible to be classed 
with them? Bwshnett, Nature and the Supernat., ii. 
To class rightly to put in the same group things which 
are of essentially the same natures, and in other groups 
things of natures essentially different is the fundamen- 
tal condition to right guidance of actions. 
//. Spencer, Man vs. State, p. 5. 
2. To place in ranks or divisions, as students 
that are pursuing the same studies ; form into 
a class or classes, as in an educational institu- 
tion. = Syn. 1. Class, Classify; arrange, distribute, dis- 
pose. Class is the older and less precise word ; it is 
applied to persons more often than classify. Classify is 
used in science rather than class, as being more exact. 
II. intrans. To be arranged or classed. 
[Rare.] 
classable (klas'a-bl), a. [< class 4- -able. Also 
less prop, classible, < class + -Me.] Capable 
of being classed. 
Each of these [doings of individuals] is approved or dis- 
approved on the assumption that it is definitely classable 
as good or bad. H. Spencer, Data of Ethics, 100. 
class-day (klas'da), n. In American colleges, 
a day during the commencement season de- 
voted chiefly to exercises conducted by mem- 
bers of the graduating class, including orations, 
poems, etc. 
classes, . Plural of classis and of class. 
class-fellow (klas'fel'o), n. One of the same 
class at school or college ; a classmate. 
classible (klas'i-bl), a. See classable. 
classic (klas'ik), a. and n. [= D. klassiek (cf. 
G. classisch = Dan. Sw. klassisk) = F. classique 
= Sp. eldsico = Pg. It. classico, < L. classicus, 
relating to the classes or census divisions into 
which the Roman people were anciently di- 
vided, and in particular pertaining to the first 
or highest class, who were often spoken of as 
classic* (hence the use of the word to note writ- 
ers of the first rank) ; also, belonging to the fleet 
(elassici, the marines : see classical 2 ), < classis, a 
class (also a fleet) : see class, n.] I. a. 1 . Belong- 
ing to or associated with the first or highest class, 
especially in literature ; accepted as of the high- 
est rank ; serving as a standard, model, or guide. 
O Sheridan ! if aught can move thy pen, 
Let comedy assume her throne again ; . . . 
Give as thy last memorial to the age 
One classic drama, and reform the stage. 
Byron, Eng. Bards and Scotch Reviewers. 
2. Pertaining to or having the characteristics of 
ancient Greece or Rome, especially of their lit- 
erature and art ; specifically, relating to places 
1030 
associated with the ancient Greek and Latin 
writers. 
With them the genius of classick learning dwelleth, and 
from them it is derived. Felton, Beading the Classicks. 
Poetic fields encompass me around, 
And still I seem to tread on classic ground. 
Addison, Letter from Italy. 
Hence 3. Relating to localities associated 
with great modern authors, or with great his- 
torical events: as, classic Stratford; classic 
Hastings. 4. In accordance with the canons 
of Greek and Roman art: as, a classic profile. 
5. Same as classical, 5. 
To force our consciences that Christ set free, 
And ride us with a classic hierarchy. 
Milton, New Forces of Conscience. 
Classic orders, in arch., the Grecian Doric, Ionic, and 
Corinthian orders, and the Roman Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, 
Corinthian, and Composite orders. 
II. n. 1. An author of the first rank; a writer 
whose style is pure and correct, and whose 
works serve as a standard or model ; primarily 
and specifically, a Greek or Roman author of 
this character, but also a writer of like char- 
acter in any nation. 
But, high above, more solid learning shone, 
The classics of an age that heard of none. 
Pope, Dunciad, i. 148. 
It at once raised him to the rank of a legitimate English 
classic. Macaulay. 
2. A literary production of the first class or 
rank; specifically, in the plural, the literature 
of ancient Greece and Rome. 
Under the tuition of Mr. Reynolds he was for some time 
instructed in the classics. Malone, Sir J. Reynolds. 
A elastic is properly a book which maintains itself by 
virtue of that happy coalescence of matter and style, that 
innate and requisite sympathy between the thought that 
gives life and the form that consents to every mood of 
grace and dignity, . . . and which is something neither 
ancient nor modern, always new and incapable of grow- 
ing old. Lowell, Among my Books, 2d ser., p. 126. 
The present practice of making the classics of a lan- 
guage the vehicle of elementary grammatical instruction 
cannot be too strongly condemned. When the classics of 
a language are ground into children who are incapable 
of appreciating them, the result is often to create a per- 
manent disgust for literature generally. 
//. Sweet, Spelling Reform (1885), p. 13. 
3. One versed in the classics Chinese classics, 
the sacred books of the Chinese. See king?. 
classical 1 (klas'i-kal), a. [< classic + -al; = D. 
klassikaal.] 1. Belonging to or associated with 
the first or highest class in literature, especially 
in literary style, (a) Primarily and specifically, relat- 
ing to Greek and Roman authors and orators of the first 
rank or highest estimation. 
He [Sheridan] brought away from school a very slender 
provision of classical learning. Brougham, Sheridan. 
The chief end of classical studies was perhaps as often 
reached then [time of Josiah Quincy] as now, in giving a 
young man a love for something apart from and above the 
more vulgar associations of life. 
Lowell, Study Windows, p. 103. 
(It) Pertaining to writers of the first rank among the mod- 
erns ; constituting the best model or authority as a com- 
position or an author. 
Mr. Greaves, who may be justly reckoned a classical au- 
thor on this subject. Arbuthnot, Anc. Coins. 
Hence 2. In general, of the first rank, or con- 
stituting a model, in its kind ; having in a high 
degree the qualities which constitute excellence 
in its kind : as, a classical work of art. 3. Same 
as classic, 2 and 3. 4. (a) Pertaining to a class ; 
of the taxonomic rank or grade of a class. 
Unwilling to give similar classical characters to both of 
his primary divisions, Csesalpinus has passed over what 
at first is most striking in the form of trees. 
Rees, Cyc., Classification. 
(6) Belonging to classification ; classificatory. 
Mr. Hammond's Preface to the American issue of Mr. 
Sandars's well-known edition of the ' ' Institutes of Justin- 
ian " contains much the best defence I have seen of the 
classical distribution of law. 
Maine, Early Law and Custom, p. 365. 
5. la some Reformed churches, relating to or 
of the nature of a classis or class. See classis, 2. 
And what doth make a classical eldership to be a pres- 
bytery? Goodwin, Works, IV. 114. 
classical 2 !, a. [< L. classicus, belonging to a 
fleet (< classis, a fleet, a class : see class, n., and 
classic), + -al.] Belonging or pertaining to a 
fleet. [Rare.] 
Certaine fragments concerning the beginnings, antiqui- 
ties, and grouth of the classical and warre-like shipping of 
this Island [England]. Hakluyt's Voyages, To the Reader. 
classicalism (klas'i-kal-izm), n. [< classical + 
-ism.] 1 . A classic idiom or style ; classicism. 
2. In art, attempted adherence to the rules 
of Greek or Roman art; imitation of classic art. 
We shall find in it [Renaissance architecture] partly the 
root, partly the expression, of certain dominant evils of 
modern times over-sophistication and ignorant classical- 
ism. Ruskin. 
classiflcator 
3. Knowledge of the classics and of what re- 
lates to them. 
Except in his [Swinburne's] first poem, Atalanta, we may 
think his cttutiealain is in many respects gravely at fault. 
//. X. Oxenham, Short Studies, p. 51. 
classicalist (klas'i-kal-ist), n. [< classical + 
-ixt.] 1. One versed in the knowledge of the 
classics ; a classicist. 2. In art, one who seeks 
to adhere to the canons of Greek or Roman art. 
Buskin. 
classicality (klas-i-kal'i.-ti), n. [< classical + 
-ity.] The quality of being classical. Also 
classicalness. 
classically (klas'i-kal-i), adv. 1. In the man- 
ner of a classic; according to the manner of 
classic authors. 
Milton found again the long-lost secret of being classi- 
cally elegant without being pedantically cold. 
Lowell, Study Windows, p. 38". 
2. According to a regular order of classes or 
sets. 
It would be impossible to bear all its specific details in 
the memory if they were not classically arranged. Ji. Ker. 
classicalness (klas'i-kal-nes), n. [< classical 
+ -ness.] Same as classicality. 
classicism (klas'i-sizm), n. [< classic + -ism ; 
= F. classicisme = It. classicismo.] 1 . An idiom 
or the style of the classics. 2. The adoption or 
imitation of what is classical or classic in style. 
The first [kind of verse] was that of an art-school, tak- 
ing its models from old English poetry, and from the deli- 
cate classicism of Landor and Keats. 
Stedman, Viet. Poets, p. 4. 
classicist (klas'i-sist), . [< classic + -ist.] 
1. One versed in the classics. 
Heyne, the great German classicist, shelled the peas for 
his dinner with one hand, while he annotated Tibullus 
with the other. 
W. Matthews, Getting on in the World, p. 229. 
2. One who is in favor of making a study of the 
classics the foundation of education. 
classicize (klas'i-siz), v . t.\ pret. and pp. classi- 
cized, ppr. classicizing. [< classic + -ize.] To 
render classic. 
It [Hotel de Rambouillet] had no doubt a very consider- 
able influence in bringing about the classicizing of French 
during the 17th century. Encyc. Brit., XX. 265. 
classifiable (klas'i-fi-a-bl), a. [< classify + 
-able.] Capable of being classified. 
These changes are classifiable as the original sensations 
are. J. S. Mill, Logic, I. 296. 
classific (kla-sif 'ik), a. [< L. classis, a class (see 
class, n. ), + -ftcus, making, < facere, make.] 1. 
Distinguishing a class or classes : as, a classific 
mark. [Rare.] 2. Relating to classification ; 
classificatory; taxonomic. 
The classific value of such features as the color of the 
skin, the .color and character of the hair and eyes, the 
shape of the nose and lips. Science, VI. 626. 
3. Making, constituting, or lying at the foun- 
dation of classification, or of a system of classi- 
fication. 
All curators of anthropological museums must recognize 
the following clasijlc concepts : material, race, geograph- 
ical areas, social organizations, environment, structure and 
function, and evolution or elaboration. Science, IX. 534. 
classification (kl&s'i-fi-ka'shon), n. [= G. clas- 
sification = D. klassifikatie = Dan. klassifika- 
tion = F. classification = Sp. clasificacion = Pg. 
classificaqSlo = It. classificazione, < NL. classifi- 
catio(n-), < classificare, classify: see classify.] 
The act of forming a class or of dividing into 
classes ; the act of grouping together those be- 
ings or things which have certain characters in 
common; distribution into sets, sorts, or ranks ; 
taxonomy. In natural history classification has been 
made on two principles, distinguished as tiie natural and 
the artificial: the former aiming to arrange all known 
plants or animals according to their resemblances, and 
degrees of resemblance, in the whole plan of their struc- 
ture ; the latter arranging them by some one or more points 
of resemblance or difference, as may be most convenient 
and easy, and without regard to other considerations. The 
widest divisions in zoology are called subkingdoms ; sub- 
kingdoms are divided into phyla or classes, classes into 
orders, orders into families, families into genera, genera 
into species, and species into varieties. There are also 
intermediate divisions, as subclass, superorder, suborder, 
subfamily, etc. In botany the same divisions are used as 
in zoology, except that orders and families are identical, 
and the tenn phylum is not used. See animal kingdom, 
under animal, and class, 6. Cross-classification, a clas- 
sification in which the different classes are subdivided upon 
a common differentiating principle, so that they are not 
subordinated to one another. Thus, the division of the 
population into native and foreign, male and female, is a 
cross-classification. Such are the classifications of chem- 
istry, geometry, logic, etc. Cross-classification violates 
a canon of Aristotelian logic. Hierarchical classifica- 
tion, a classification in which the subdivisions of different 
classes are different, as was required by Aristotle. Such 
are the usual classifications of botany and zoology. Quin- 
ary or quinarlan classification. See quinary. 
Classiflcator (klas'i-fi-ka-tor), . [NL. Cf. Sp. 
clasificador.] A classifier. 
