1817 Lit. Gaz. 1 Feb. 17/2 This complication of objects and of relations..by generalizations, and by the classifying of objects, originates sounder methods of philosophy.

1870 Times 18 Mar. 9/2 The supposed Suspension of Trial by Jury turns out..to be no more than the classifying of petty offences under a Summary Jurisdiction Act.

1917 D. Ainslie tr. B. Croce Logic as Sci. of Pure Concept iii. ii. 415 Mathematicism is much rarer than empiricism, because the confusion between thinking and calculating is less easy than that between thinking and classifying.

1955 Bradshaw & Newman in M. J. Dooher Electronic Data Processing in Industry i. 18 Typical methods of classifying, as to both type of classification and examples, are: (a) alphanumeric codes, [etc.].

2001 S. T. Asma Stuffed Animals & Pickled Heads v. 185 The reason why many anthropologists..have suggested that all ways of classifying are thoroughly relative is because they have mistakenly assumed that logical classifying is the only kind of classifying.

1792 H. Hunter tr. J. C. Lavater Ess. Physiognomy II. iii. 22 The algebraic spirit of a Euler, or the classifying genius [Ger. klassifizirenden Genie] of a Linneus.

1858 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. (ed. 2) II. 515 A singular precision of the classifying power, which he possessed as a native talent.

1948 J. O'Brien tr. A. Gide Jrnls. 24 Jan. II. 3 He has a marvelously organized, organizing, clear, and classifying intelligence.

1990 A. Gethin Antilinguistics xi. 235 This sort of classifying analysis doesn't give us any more information.

1952 Vigiliae Christianae 6 85 In Latin, the qualifying adjective is normally placed before the noun, the classifying adjective after it.

1978 ELH 45 137 The classifying adjectives (..‘bareheaded’, ‘stockinged’, ‘paper’) modify in a generalized direction.

1984 D. J. Young Introd. Eng. Gram. 93 Gradability is a property of adjectives when these are being used in a qualitative, rather than a colour or a classifying function.

2004 P. Simpson Stylistics b ii. 55 The test does not work for another group of adjectives, known as classifying adjectives, which specify more fixed qualities relative to the noun they describe.