the.com/criterion
The singular nobody uses, right before they misuse its plural, criteria, instead.
means A standard or rule you use to judge, decide, or test something against.
from From Greek kriterion, 'a means for judging,' built from krites, 'judge,' and ultimately the verb krinein, 'to separate, decide, judge' — the same root that gives us 'critic' and 'crisis.' It passed into Latin and then English largely intact, keeping its Greek plural, criteria, tucked inside it like a trap waiting to be misused.
- plural form
- criteria, not criterions, despite everyone's instincts
- origin
- greek kriterion, meaning means of judging
- common crime
- saying one criteria, which grammarians quietly weep at
- relative
- cousin to critic and crisis, all about judgment