Definition of a “List”
A list is a phenomenon that does not particularly need definitions. It is unlikely that anyone will want to look into the dictionary to find out what it is. Is there anything to say about it?
Defining the Obvious — Not So Simple
There are concepts that are hard to define. They’re so obvious that it's difficult to find words to describe them in a way that tells the reader something they don’t already know.
Attempting to explain the meaning of a list to someone unfamiliar with it, using only words, may not work. Let's look at the definition in the Dictionary.com [1]:
List, noun — a series of names or other items written or printed together in a meaningful grouping or sequence so as to constitute a record.
What about the origins? Here they are from the same source:
First recorded in 1595–1605; special use of list (in the sense “roll of names,” perhaps originally of contestants in the lists ); compare French liste, from Italian lista “roll of names,” earlier, “band, strip (e.g., of paper), border,” from Old High German līsta ( German Leiste ).
Could we register “list” before 1595? Yes, there were also Old English “hlystan”, or English “līste” as well as once again Old English “lystan”. These all are very archaic. You can read much more about the topic on Dictionary.com.
It’s a respectable definition. But would it help someone who has never encountered lists? Probably not. And it’s not because the definition is poor, but because it’s unlikely that there’s anyone who has avoided lists while encountering series, items, and sequence.
It seems that a much easier way to define a list might be:
One,Two,Three.
— This is a list.☝️
— And can you write anything you want, as much as you want? Like this:Web,Wood,Boat.
— Yes, you can.
Was That Really the Same Meaning of a “List”?
Here, one might rightfully accuse me of a non-dictionary approach to defining the term above. In a sense, my attempt to define a list is not the most efficient operational definition. I tried to define the list in terms of actions, which usually happens when someone first meets it at the very young age.
By the way, what was the list before 1595? It was a narrow strip if talking about a noun. For a verb case, it was about to lean to the one side of a ship.
At this point, it’s best to stop delving into the meaning of the word “list” and move on to useful materials. Fortunately, there’s a solid selection on this blog. It is dedicated to using list for the better life, work and business, and not to just defining how to use it in different phrases.
What to Read About Lists?
New articles appear regularly on the blog, and one short text isn’t enough to mention them all. But let's try to highlight the most important ones.
Firstly, you can find all materials in a list under the “lists” tag on the blog.
Are you a person who likes unusual facts? Do you want to see an interesting example of a list? There is this kind of material for you collected under the “List Example” tag of this blog. The whole catalog of unusual listicles.
The obviousness of the list concept is emphasized by the fact that even young children can make lists. Moreover, they can do it in the good details.
On the other hand, this very obviousness led humanity to ignore the study of lists until 2017. What happened then? That’s when the group of medievalists began the research in the field of a new science, “Listology”.
Have you ever tried searching for books about lists online? Probably not — why would you? If you ever need to, though, you’ll most likely won’t find that much. Subsequently, the search engine will start offering you lists of books on various topics instead of books that discuss lists as a phenomenon. But such books exist, and they’re discussed in a dedicated article on the blog.
Apart from these books, there’s an entire cultural phenomenon, namely, “The Book of Lists”. These books cover a wide range of topics, from gardening to The Beatles. There are more than a hundred of these books. This blog features a separate, extensive article on the topic, titled “Almost All Books of Lists”.
The sequence of elements in a list doesn’t always serve an entertaining purpose. How about the idea of organizing things with a list? For instance, you can plan your day with a list. If that’s not enough, find out how a list can help you extract more from books than other renowned information organization systems. Even a very relaxed approach to order can be achieved with a list, just mark what’s required, and add the note where necessary.
Or perhaps you feel like you’re constantly doing things but haven’t achieved anything? That’s only how it seems. A done list will serve as convincing proof. If you still have doubts, there’s also another list that will help you believe in yourself.
And Even More on Lists
Did you expect such multifacetedness from a document containing an enumeration? By the way, while its creation is quite straightforward, the development of lists is much more interesting and complex. The evolution of a list’s items and the list itself reflects how list users integrate life knowledge into this reliable, simple tool.
This blog has yet to cover shopping lists, recipes, questions, rules for list formatting, and many other desirable topics. As you can see, there’s a lot more to come.
This page does not comprehensively describe the properties and applications of lists. The blog will frequently revisit this topic. Subscribe to the blog's newsletter for new perspectives on familiar tools. Not to a lesser extent, you can find the different usages of another great list-based tool: checklist.
List of Links
[1] “LIST Definition & Meaning” from “Dictionary.com”
[2] Shaun Usher “Lists of Note: An Eclectic Collection Deserving of a Wider Audience”, ISBN 978-1452144573
