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Category vs Purpose - What's the difference?

category | purpose |

As nouns the difference between category and purpose

is that category is a group, often named or numbered, to which items are assigned based on similarity or defined criteria while purpose is an object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.

As a verb purpose is

have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.

category

Noun

(categories)
  • A group, often named or numbered, to which items are assigned based on similarity or defined criteria.
  • *
  • The traditional way of describing the similarities and differences between constituents is to say that they belong to categories'' of various types. Thus, words like ''boy'', ''girl'', ''man'', ''woman'', etc. are traditionally said to belong to the category''' of Nouns, whereas words like ''a'', ''the'', ''this'', and ''that'' are traditionally said to belong to the ' category of Determiners.
    This steep and dangerous climb belongs to the most difficult category .
    I wouldn't put this book in the same category as the author's first novel.
  • (mathematics) A collection of objects, together with a transitively closed collection of composable arrows between them, such that every object has an identity arrow, and such that arrow composition is associative.
  • One well-known category has sets as objects and functions as arrows.
    Just as a monoid consists of an underlying set with a binary operation "on top of it" which is closed, associative and with an identity, a category consists of an underlying digraph with an arrow composition operation "on top of it" which is transitively closed, associative, and with an identity at each object. In fact, a category's composition operation, when restricted to a single one of its objects, turns that object's set of arrows (which would all be loops) into a monoid.

    Synonyms

    * (group to which items are assigned) class, family, genus, group, kingdom, order, phylum, race, tribe, type * See also

    Derived terms

    * category mistake * category theory * conceptual category * perceptual category * subcategory * supercategory

    purpose

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author= Ed Pilkington
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= ‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told , passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}
  • A result that is desired; an intention.
  • The act of intending to do something; resolution; determination.
  • * 2013 , Phil McNulty, "[http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23830980]", BBC Sport , 1 September 2013:
  • United began with more purpose in the early phase of the second half and Liverpool were grateful for Glen Johnson's crucial block from Young's goalbound shot.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author= Sarah Glaz
  • , title= Ode to Prime Numbers , volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Some poems, echoing the purpose of early poetic treatises on scientific principles, attempt to elucidate the mathematical concepts that underlie prime numbers. Others play with primes’ cultural associations. Still others derive their structure from mathematical patterns involving primes.}}
  • The subject of discourse; the point at issue.
  • (Spenser)
  • The reason for which something is done, or the reason it is done in a particular way.
  • The purpose of turning off the lights overnight is to save energy.
  • (obsolete) Instance; example.
  • (rfquotek, L'Estrange)
    Synonyms
    * (target ): aim, goal, object, target * (intention ): aim, plan, intention * (determination ): determination, intention, resolution * (subject of discourse ): matter, subject, topic * (reason for doing something ): reason * See also
    Derived terms
    (terms derived from purpose) * all-purpose * common purpose * cross-purpose * fit for purpose * for all intents and purposes * game with a purpose * general-purpose * infinitive of purpose * multi-purpose * metapurpose * purpose-built * purposeful * purposeless * purpose-like * purpose loan * purposely * purpose statement * on purpose

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl)

    Verb

    (purpos)
  • Have set as one's purpose; resolve to accomplish; intend; plan.
  • * Macaulay
  • I purpose to write the history of England from the accession of King James the Second down to a time which is within the memory of men still living.
  • (passive ) Designed for some purpose.
  • (obsolete) To have a purpose or intention; to discourse.
  • (Spenser)
    Derived terms
    * purposed * purposer * purposive * on purpose
    Synonyms
    * (have set as one's purpose ): aim, intend, mean, plan, set out * (designed for some purpose ): intended

    References

    * * *

    Statistics

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