κατηγορία -- in Grecian and Griceian

κατηγορία is possibly the most important Griceian notion.

Originally it meant 'accusation', the Liddell/Scott online tells us:

"accusation," Hdt.6.50, etc.; opp. αἰτία (expostulation), Th.1.69; opp. ἔπαινος, ib.84; opp. ἀπολογία Arist.Rh.1358b11; τὴν κ. ποιεῖσθαι Antipho 6.10, And.1.6; ὡς ὑβρίζοντος κ. ἐποιοῦντο X.An.5.8.1; κ. ἐγένοντο πολλαὶ τῶν Ἀθηναίων charges were made against . . , Id.HG2.1.31; κατηγορίαι κατά τινος γεγόνασιν Isoc.5.147; εἰ . . ἐπὶ τοῖς πεπραγμένοις κατηγορίας ἔχω I am liable to accusation, D.18.240.

And it was much later that Aristotle used it in the way that Kant will also adopt -- and Grice's Kantotle -- and Grice himself:

"in Logic, predication, Arist.Metaph.1007a35, etc.: pl., Id.APo.84a1; esp. affirmative predication, opp. στέρησις, Id.APr.52a15; ἄπορον ἐν κ. Stoic.2.93.
2 predicate, Arist.Metaph.1004a29, 1028a28, al., Epicur.Ep.1p.23U., etc.
3 more freq., category, head of predicables, Arist.Top.103b20 (ten), APo.83b16, Ph.225b5 (eight), Metaph.1068a8 (seven), cf.EN 1096a29."

The vagaries of the Latin transliteration are interesting in that they feature Sidonius and his Epistle, where he also used, for the first time, "implicatura":

categoria (postclass.).
I An accusation, Hier. Ep. 82, 9; Macr. S. 7, 3 (where others write it as a Greek word). —
II In logic, a predicament, category or class of predicables (pure Lat. praedicamenta): Aristotelicae, Isid. Orig. 2, 26, 1; Sid. Ep. 4, 1: Aristotelica quaedam, quas appellat decem categorias, Aug. Conf. 4, 16; Serg. Expl. in Art. Don. p. 487, 25 Keil.

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The online etymological has an interesting note by Fowler (who A. G. N. Flew compares with his tutor, Grice -- "Grice was no Fowler") for Fowler wants to distinguish between 'category' and mere 'class':

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=category

category:
1580s, from M.Fr. catégorie, from L.L. categoria, from Gk. kategoria, from kategorein "to speak against; to accuse, assert, predicate," from kata "down to" (or perhaps "against") + agoreuein "to declaim (in the assembly)," from agora "public assembly," from PIE base *ger- "to gather" (see gregarious). Original sense of "accuse" weakened to "assert, name" by the time Aristotle applied kategoria to his 10 classes of things that can be named.
category should be used by no-one who is not prepared to state (1) that he does not mean class, & (2) that he knows the difference between the two .... [Fowler]"

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For Grice, 'transcategorial' is just as important as 'categorial'. The study of transcategorial epithets was so important for Grice -- it was the realm of Allegory, Metaphor, and Simile -- that he created a whole branch of metaphysics for it: eschatology -- what lies beyond.

Oddly, Thomason has an online essay on 'sortal incorrectness' which may apply. For Grice, analytically false utterances are so because they are 'beyond belief': "My neighbour's three-year son is an adult". To say such things, like to say, "You are the cream in my coffee" engages you in transcategorial talk, that may motivate you to change your mind, or your linguistic framework, or both!


J. L.