group

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: French groupe, from Italian gruppo, by-form of groppo knot, tangle, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German kropf craw — more at crop Date: 1686 1. two or more figures forming a complete unit in a composition 2. a. a number of individuals assembled together or having some unifying relationship b. an assemblage of objects regarded as a unit c. (1) a military unit consisting of a headquarters and attached battalions (2) a unit of the United States Air Force higher than a squadron and lower than a wing 3. a. an assemblage of related organisms — often used to avoid taxonomic connotations when the kind or degree of relationship is not clearly defined b. (1) two or more atoms joined together or sometimes a single atom forming part of a molecule; especially functional group <

a methyl group

> (2) an assemblage of elements forming one of the vertical columns of the periodic table c. a stratigraphic division comprising rocks deposited during an era 4. a mathematical set that is closed under a binary associative operation, contains an identity element, and has an inverse for every element II. verb Date: 1718 transitive verb 1. to combine in a group 2. to assign to a group ; classify intransitive verb 1. to form a group 2. to belong to a group 3. to make groups of closely spaced hits on a target <

the gun grouped beautifully — R. C. Ruark

> • groupable adjective