sort
UK[sɔːt]US[sɔːrt]
n
A group or type of people or things that share common qualities; a kind or category.
v
To arrange things into different groups or types, or in a particular order.
Etymology
The word 'sort' entered English in the late 14th century from Old French 'sorte', meaning a kind, class, or fate. The Old French term derived from Latin 'sors' (genitive 'sortis'), which originally signified a 'lot' (as in an object drawn to determine fate), a 'share', or a 'fortune'. This Latin root is linked to the verb 'serere', meaning 'to join or arrange', which conceptually connects the idea of casting lots to the act of assigning or grouping. Over time, the meaning evolved from the literal 'lot' drawn by chance to the more abstract notion of a 'class' or 'kind' into which things are arranged, leading to its modern senses of a category and the action of categorizing.
Analysis
The word 'sort' is a simplex word of Latin origin. It cannot be meaningfully segmented into smaller morphemes within its modern English spelling.
Examples
What sort of music do you like best?
She spent the afternoon sorting her old photographs into albums.
We need to get this problem sorted as soon as possible.