A principle, standard, or test by which something is judged or evaluated (variant of criterion).
From Greek 'kriterion' meaning a standard for judgment or decision. This appears to be a variant or misspelling of 'criterion,' influenced by Latin or older English spelling conventions.
This word shows how English borrowed directly from Greek when we needed vocabulary for abstract ideas—'criterion' literally comes from a root meaning 'to judge or separate,' which is exactly what we do when we apply standards.
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