criterion

• criteria (nonstandard)
• criterium

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

• IPA^(key): /kɹaɪˈtɪəɹi.ən/, /kɹɪˈtɪəɹi.ən/

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criterion (plural criteria)

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

   Criterion of choice, of decision, of selection

   • 2013 November 30, Paul Davis, “Letters: Say it as simply as possible”, in The Economist‎, volume 409, number 8864:

     Congratulations on managing to use the phrase “preponderant criterion” in a chart (“On your marks”, November 9th). Was this the work of a kakorrhaphiophobic journalist set a challenge by his colleagues, or simply an example of glossolalia?

• 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”.

• criterial
• crisis
• critic
• criticize
• critical

• criterion in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• criterion in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

• tricerion

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /kriˈte.ri.on/, [krɪˈtɛ.ri.ɔn]

criterion n (genitive criteriī); second declension

1. criterion

Second declension, Greek type.

• Catalan: criteri
• Dutch: criterium
• English: criterion
• Italian: criterio
• Spanish: criterio