A Collective Term is one which denotes an aggregate or collected whole of objects, persons or things of the same or similar kind, which collective whole is considered as an individual, although composed of a totality of separate individual objects, persons or things. Thus the following terms: "regiment; congregation; army; family; crowd; nation; company; battalion; class; congress; parliament; convention;" etc. are Collective Terms, because they denote collective, aggregate or composite wholes, considered as an individual.
A Distributive Term is a term which denotes each and every individual object, person or thing in a given class. For example, are the terms: "man; quadruped; biped; mammal; book; diamond; tree." As Hyslop says: "General terms are always distributive." Also: "It is important also to keep clear the distinction between class wholes and collective wholes.... They are often confused so as to call a term denoting a class a Collective Term."
Another general classification of Terms divides them into the following two respective classes; (1) Concrete Terms; and (2) Abstract Terms.
A Concrete Term is a term denoting either a definite object, person or thing which is subject to perception and experience, and may be considered as actually existent concretely, as for instance: horse; man; mountain; dollar; knife; table; etc., or else an attribute thought of and used solely as an attribute, as for instance: "beautiful, wise, noble, virtuous, good," etc.
An Abstract Term is a term denoting the attribute, quality or property considered as apart from the object, person or thing and as having an abstract existence, as for instance: "beauty; wisdom; nobility; goodness; virtue," etc. As we have seen elsewhere, these qualities have no real existence in themselves, but are known and thought of only in connection with concrete objects, persons and things. Thus we cannot know "Beauty," but may know beautiful things; we cannot know "Virtue," but we may know virtuous people, etc.
An attribute or quality is concrete when expressed as an adjective; and abstract when expressed as a noun; as for instance, "beautiful" and "beauty," respectively, or "virtuous" and "virtue," respectively. The distinction may be summed up as follows: A Concrete Term is the name of a thing or of a quality of a thing expressed as an adjective and as merely a quality; while an Abstract Term is the name of a quality of a thing, expressed as a noun and as a "thing" in itself.
Certain terms may be used as either Concrete Terms or as Abstract Terms, and certain authorities have seen fit to classify them as Mixed Terms, as for instance the terms: "government; religion; philosophy;" etc.
Another general classification of Terms divides them into two respective classes as follows: (1) Positive Terms; and (2) Negative Terms.
A Positive Term is a term which denotes its own qualities, as for instance: "good, human, large, square, black, strong," etc. These terms indicate the presence of the quality denoted by the term itself.
A Negative Term is a term denoting the absence of a quality, as for instance: "inhuman, inorganic, unwell, unpleasant, non-conducive," etc. These terms deny the presence of certain qualities, rather than asserting the presence of an opposite quality. They are essentially negative in nature and in form. Jevons says: "We may usually know a Negative Term by its beginning with one of the little syllables un-, in-, a-, an-, non-, or by its ending with -less." Hyslop says: "The usual symbols of Negative Terms are in, un, less, dis, a, or an, anti, mis, and sometimes de, and non and not." Jevons adds: "If the English language were a perfect one, every term ought to have a Negative Term exactly corresponding to it, so that all adjectives and nouns would be in pairs. Just as convenient has its negative inconvenient; metallic, non-metallic; logical, illogical; and so on; so blue should have its negative, non-blue; literary, non-literary; paper, non-paper. But many of these Negative Terms would be seldom or never used, and if we happen to want them, we can make them for the occasion by putting not-, or non-, before the Positive Term. Accordingly, we find in the dictionary only those Negative Terms which are much employed."