sortal (adj.)

A property of a word that necessarily applies to an entity through out its existence; for example, cow is sortal, whereas ill is non-sortal. The term (and the associated noun sortality) derives from ‘sort’, in the sense of ‘species’. Sortal terms include NATURAL KIND TERMS (cow), artefactual terms (car), and abstract terms (number). Multi-word items are not excluded (black-and-white cow).