non-classadj.n.
/nɒnˈklɑːs/, /nɒnˈklas/, U.S. /nɑnˈklæs/ A. adj. (attributive).
Not relating to or involving class or a class (in various senses).
ΚΠ
1927 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 57 335 The non-class dual organization of the north.
1957 R. N. C. Hunt Guide to Communist Jargon xxxii. 111 The ideologists of the imperialist bourgeoisie, hypocritically screening themselves behind a non-class approach.
1990 Times Educ. Suppl. 14 Sept. 9/2 The national agreement which stipulates that teachers must have 240 minutes of non-class contact time per week is almost as important to me as the yellow book of the SCCC.
B. n.
1. Mathematics and Logic. An assemblage or purported group which does not constitute a class.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical classification > [noun] > a division, group, or class > categories in relation to each other
summum genus1592
subaltern genusa1705
superordinate1817
non-class1936
1936 W. V. Quine in Jrnl. Symbolic Logic 1 46 The null class presupposes a distinction between classes and individuals (non-classes) which is inexpressible in terms of membership, since the null class is like an individual in lacking members.
1950 Jrnl. Symbolic Logic 15 109 The principle of extensionality A3 has the effect of excluding non-classes entirely.
1959 Jrnl. Philos. 56 172 The reduction of class-membership to class-inclusion has been attempted by means of the assimilation of non-classes to classes.
2. Lack of social class. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > [noun]
lowness?c1225
unnobleyc1384
noughtc1400
ignoblenessc1450
innoblessea1470
deuce-ace1481
ignobility1483
dunghill1537
vilityc1550
baseness1552
humility1623
non-class1973
1973 ‘Trevanian’ Loo Sanction 11 A dour young man..flaunting his nonclass by drinking beer.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1927