criterion

English Online Dictionary. What means criterion‎? What does criterion mean?

English

Alternative forms

• criteria (nonstandard)
• criterium

Etymology

From New Latin criterion, from Ancient Greek κριτήριον (kritḗrion, “a test, a means of judging”), from κριτής (kritḗs, “judge”), from κρίνω (krínō, “to judge”); see critic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɹɪˈtɪəɹi.ən/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kɹaɪˈtɪə.ɹi.ən/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /kɹaɪˈtɪɹ.i.ən/
• Rhymes: -ɪɹiən

Noun

criterion (plural criteria)

1. A standard, test, or requirement by which individual things or people may be compared and judged.

   Near-synonym: benchmark

Usage notes

• The plural form criterions also exists, but is much less common.
• The form criteria is sometimes used as a nonstandard singular form (as in a criteria, this criteria, and so on), with corresponding plural form criterias. In this use, it sometimes means “a single criterion”, sometimes “a set of criteria”.

Derived terms

Related terms

• criterial
• crisis
• critic
• criticize
• critical

Translations

Further reading

• criterion on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “criterion”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “criterion”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• tricerion

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek κριτήριον (kritḗrion).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /kriˈte.ri.on/, [krɪˈt̪ɛriɔn]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kriˈte.ri.on/, [kriˈt̪ɛːrion]

Noun

criterion n (genitive criteriī); second declension

1. criterion

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter, Greek-type).

Descendants

• → Catalan: criteri
• → Dutch: criterium
• → English: criterion
• → German: Kriterium
• → Italian: criterio
• → Sicilian: critèriu
• → Spanish: criterio