See Also: Sort(medicine)
sort-out(dictionary)
sort(dictionary)
sort(2)(dictionary)
sort(1)(dictionary)
re-sort(dictionary)
q-sort(medicine)
Sort (Pai Gow)(casino)
sort 1, noun(dictionary)
sort 2, verb(dictionary)

sort(2) (iou)



sort noun2. LME.
[Old & mod. French sorte = Italian sorta from Proto-Romance alt. of Latin sort-, sors wooden voting tablet, lot, share, condition, rank (Anglo-Latin sorta sort, kind).]
I.
Pl -s, (before of, now rare exc. in these sort of, those sort of) same. A class of or of people or things determined on the basis of common attributes; a kind, a type, (of). LME.
D. L. Sayers I thought those sort of people knew every boat..by sight. E. F. Benson I should condemn myself for doing that sort of thing. J. Marquand Major Best was the sort to die by violence. R. N. Currey This is a damned inhuman sort of war. R. Frame She hadn't any qualifications of the secretarial sort. D. Leavitt Upheavals of various sorts had ravaged their faces. Bird Watching More than 100 different sorts of..call by birds have..been identified.
Character, disposition; rank. Formerly also spec., high rank. LME.
Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream None of noble sort Would so offend a virgin. Shelley They are too mad for people of my sort.
a. The people of a specified character, type, or rank collectively. M16.
Goldsmith The better sort here pretend to the utmost compassion for animals.
b. A person of a specified character. colloq. M19.
T. Parks She seems a sociable sort.
c. A girl, a woman. slang (chiefly Austral.). M20.
Printing. A letter etc. from a font of type. Usu. in pl. M17.
II.
A group or company of people or animals. Now only (arch.) foll. by of. LME.
Sir W. Scott Here are a sort of knaves breaking peace within burgh.
b. A collection or set of things. M16-E17.
A (great, good, etc.) number of people or things; a large number or quantity, a multitude. Formerly also foll. by of. Now Scot. & dial. L15.
A part of a thing or group. M16-M17.
III.
A manner, a method, a way. arch. exc. in phrs. below. M16.
IV. Computing. [from SORT verb.]
The action of arranging items of data in a prescribed sequence. M20.
Phrases: after a sort after a fashion, in some way or other. all-sorts: see ALL adjective 2. a sort of a type resembling or roughly equivalent to the person or thing specified. in a sort arch. in some (esp. unsatisfactory) manner. in a sort of way imperfectly; not properly. in some sort to a certain extent. in sort in a body or company. NOTHING of the sort. of a sort (a) (now dial.) of the same kind; (b) colloq. = of sorts (b) below. of sorts (a) (now rare) of different or various kinds; (b) colloq. of an inferior or unusual kind, not fully deserving the name. out of sorts (a) slightly unwell; (b) in low spirits; irritable, peevish. SOMETHING of the sort. sort of colloq. to some extent, somewhat; in some way, somehow. these sort of: see THESE demonstr. adjective 1. those sort of: see THOSE demonstr. adjective 2.
Comb.: sort key Computing a characteristic feature of items of data according to which the data may be arranged; sort program Computing a program written to perform a sort; sort routine Computing a routine written to perform a sort.