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org/wiki/Glossary_of_category_theory

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This is a glossary of properties and concepts in category theory in mathematics.

Notes on foundations: In many expositions (e.g., Vistoli), the set-theoretic issues are ignored; this means, for
instance, that one does not distinguish between small and large categories and that one can arbitrarily form a
localization of a category.[1] Like those expositions, this glossary also generally ignores the set-theoretic issues,
except when they are relevant (e.g., the discussion on accessibility.)

Especially for higher categories, the concepts from algebraic topology are also used in the category theory. For that see also
glossary of algebraic topology.

The notations and the conventions used throughout the article are:

[n] = { 0, 1, 2, , n }, which is viewed as a category (by writing .)

Cat, the category of (small) categories, where the objects are categories (which are small with respect to some
universe) and the morphisms functors.
Fct(C, D), the functor category: the category of functors from a category C to a category D.
Set, the category of (small) sets.
sSet, the category of simplicial sets.
"weak" instead of "strict" is given the default status; e.g., "n-category" means "weak n-category", not the strict one,
by default.
By an -category, we mean a quasi-category, the most popular model, unless other models are being discussed.
The number zero 0 is a natural number.

Contents :
!$@ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XYZ See also References

abelian
A category is abelian if it has a zero object, it has all pullbacks and pushouts, and all monomorphisms and
epimorphisms are normal.
accessible
1. Given a cardinal number , an object X in a category is -accessible (or -compact or -presentable) if
commutes with -filtered colimits.
2. Given a regular cardinal , a category is -accessible if it has -filtered colimits and there exists a small set S of
-compact objects that generates the category under colimits, meaning every object can be written as a colimit of
diagrams of objects in S.
additive
A category is additive if it is preadditive (to be precise, has some pre-additive structure) and admits all finite
coproducts. Although "preadditive" is an additional structure, one can show "additive" is a property of a category;
i.e., one can ask whether a given category is additive or not.[2]
adjunction
An adjunction (also called an adjoint pair) is a pair of functors F: C D, G: D C such that there is a "natural"
bijection
;
F is said to be left adjoint to G and G to right adjoint to F. Here, "natural" means there is a natural isomorphism
of bifunctors (which are contravariant in the first variable.)
algebra for a monad
Given a monad T in a category X, an algebra for T or a T-algebra is an object in X with a monoid action of T
("algebra" is misleading and "T-object" is perhaps a better term.) For example, given a group G that determines a
monad T in Set in the standard way, a T-algebra is a set with an action of G.
amnestic
A functor is amnestic if it has the property: if k is an isomorphism and F(k) is an identity, then k is an identity.

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balanced
A category is balanced if every bimorphism is an isomorphism.
Beck's theorem
Beck's theorem characterizes the category of algebras for a given monad.
bicategory
A bicategory is a model of a weak 2-category.
bifunctor
A bifunctor from a pair of categories C and D to a category E is a functor C D E. For example, for any category
C, is a bifunctor from Cop and C to Set.
bimorphism
A bimorphism is a morphism that is both an epimorphism and a monomorphism.
Bousfield localization
See Bousfield localization.

calculus of functors
The calculus of functors is a technique of studying functors in the manner similar to the way a function is studied via
its Taylor series expansion; whence, the term "calculus".
cartesian closed
A category is cartesian closed if it has a terminal object and that any two objects have a product and exponential.
cartesian functor
Given relative categories over the same base category C, a functor over C is
cartesian if it sends cartesian morphisms to cartesian morphisms.
cartesian morphism
1. Given a functor : C D (e.g., a prestack over schemes), a morphism f: x y in C is -cartesian if, for each
object z in C, each morphism g: z y in C and each morphism v: (z) (x) in D such that (g) = (f) v, there
exists a unique morphism u: z x such that (u) = v and g = f u.
2. Given a functor : C D (e.g., a prestack over rings), a morphism f: x y in C is -coCartesian if, for each
object z in C, each morphism g: x z in C and each morphism v: (y) (z) in D such that (g) = v (f), there
exists a unique morphism u: y z such that (u) = v and g = u f. (In short, f is the dual of a -cartesian morphism.)
Cartesian square
A commutative diagram that is isomorphic to the diagram given as a fiber product.
categorification
The term "categorification" is an informal term referring to a process of replacing sets and set-theoretic concepts with
categories and category-theoretic concepts in some nontrivial way to capture categoric flavors. Decategorification is
the reverse of categorification.
category
A category consists of the following data
1. A class of objects,
2. For each pair of objects X, Y, a set , whose elements are called morphisms from X to Y,
3. For each triple of objects X, Y, Z, a map (called composition)
,
4. For each object X, an identity morphism
subject to the conditions: for any morphisms , and ,
and .
For example, a partially ordered set can be viewed as a category: the objects are the elements of the set and for each
pair of objects x, y, there is a unique morphism if and only if ; the associativity of composition means
transitivity.
category of categories

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The category of (small) categories, denoted by Cat, is a category where the objects are all the categories which are
small with respect to some fixed universe and the morphisms are all the functors.
classifying space
The classifying space of a category C is the geometric realization of the nerve of C.
co-
Often used synonymous with op-; for example, a colimit refers to an op-limit in the sense that it is a limit in the
opposite category. But there might be a distinction; for example, an op-fibration is not the same thing as a
cofibration.
coend
The coend of a functor is the dual of the end of F and is denoted by

For example, if R is a ring, M a right R-module and N a left R-module, then the tensor product of M and N is

where R is viewed as a category with one object whose morphisms are the elements of R.
coequalizer
The coequalizer of a pair of morphisms is the colimit of the pair. It is the dual of an equalizer.
coimage
The coimage of a morphism f: X Y is the coequalizer of .
comma
Given functors , the comma category is a category where (1) the objects are
morphisms and (2) a morphism from to consists of and
such that is For example, if f is the identity functor and g is the
constant functor with a value b, then it is the slice category of B over an object b.
comonad
A comonad in a category X is a comonid in the monoidal category of endofunctors of X.
compact
Probably synonymous with #accessible.
complete
A category is complete if all small limits exist.
composition
1. A composition of morphisms in a category is part of the datum defining the category.
2. If are functors, then the composition or is the functor defined by: for an object
x and a morphism u in C, .
3. Natural transformations are composed pointwise: if are natural transformations, then
is the natural transformation given by .
concrete
A concrete category C is a category such that there is a faithful functor from C to Set; e.g., Vec, Grp and Top.
cone
A cone is a way to express the universal property of a colimit (or dually a limit). One can show[3] that the colimit
is the left adjoint to the diagonal functor , which sends an object X to the constant functor with
value X; that is, for any X and any functor ,

provided the colimit in question exists. The right-hand side is then the set of cones with vertex X.[4]
connected
A category is connected if, for each pair of objects x, y, there exists a finite sequence of objects zi such that
and either or is nonempty for any i.
conservative functor
A conservative functor is a functor that reflects isomorphisms. Many forgetful functors are conservative, but the
forgetful functor from Top to Set is not conservative.

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constant
A functor is constant if it maps every object in a category to the same object A and every morphism to the identity on
A. Put in another way, a functor is constant if it factors as: for some object A in D, where
i is the inclusion of the discrete category { A }.
contravariant functor
A contravariant functor F from a category C to a category D is a (covariant) functor from Cop to D. It is sometimes
also called a presheaf especially when D is Set or the variants. For example, for each set S, let be the power set
of S and for each function , define

by sending a subset A of T to the pre-image . With this, is a contravariant functor.

coproduct
The coproduct of a family of objects Xi in a category C indexed by a set I is the inductive limit of the functor
, where I is viewed as a discrete category. It is the dual of the product of the family. For example, a
coproduct in Grp is a free product.

Day convolution
Given a group or monoid M, the Day convolution is the tensor product in .[5]
density theorem
The density theorem states that every presheaf (a set-valued contravariant functor) is a colimit of representable
presheaves. Yoneda's lemma embeds a category C into the category of presheaves on C. The density theorem then
says the image is "dense", so to say. The name "density" is because of the analogy with the Jacobson density theorem
(or other variants) in abstract algebra.
diagonal functor
Given categories I, C, the diagonal functor is the functor

that sends each object A to the constant functor with value A and each morphism to the natural
transformation that is f at each i.
diagram
Given a category C, a diagram in C is a functor from a small category I.
differential graded category
A differential graded category is a category whose Hom sets are equipped with structures of differential graded
modules. In particular, if the category has only one object, it is the same as a differential graded module.
discrete
A category is discrete if each morphism is an identity morphism (of some object). For example, a set can be viewed
as a discrete category.
distributor
Another term for "profunctor".
DwyerKan equivalence
A DwyerKan equivalence is a generalization of an equivalence of categories to the simplicial context.[6]

EilenbergMoore category
Another name for the category of algebras for a given monad.
end
The end of a functor is the limit

where is the category (called the subdivision category of C) whose objects are symbols for all objects c
and all morphisms u in C and whose morphisms are and if and where is induced

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by F so that would go to and would go to . For example, for functors

,

is the set of natural transformations from F to G. For more examples, see this mathoverflow thread
(http://mathoverflow.net/questions/78471/intuition-for-coends). The dual of an end is a coend.
endofunctor
A functor between the same category.
enriched category
Given a monoidal category (C, , 1), a category enriched over C is, informally, a category whose Hom sets are in C.
More precisely, a category D enriched over C is a data consisting of
1. A class of objects,
2. For each pair of objects X, Y in D, an object in C, called the mapping object from X to Y,
3. For each triple of objects X, Y, Z in D, a morphism in C,
,
called the composition,
4. For each object X in D, a morphism in C, called the unit morphism of X
subject to the conditions that (roughly) the compositions are associative and the unit morphisms act as the
multiplicative identity. For example, a category enriched over sets is an ordinary category.
empty
The empty category is a category with no object. It is the same thing as the empty set when the empty set is viewed
as a discrete category.
epimorphism
A morphism f is an epimorphism if whenever . In other words, f is the dual of a monomorphism.
equalizer
The equalizer of a pair of morphisms is the limit of the pair. It is the dual of a coequalizer.
equivalence
1. A functor is an equivalence if it is faithful, full and essentially surjective.
2. A morphism in an -category C is an equivalence if it gives an isomorphism in the homotopy category of C.
equivalent
A category is equivalent to another category if there is an equivalence between them.
essentially surjective
A functor F is called essentially surjective (or isomorphism-dense) if for every object B there exists an object A such
that F(A) is isomorphic to B.
evaluation
Given categories C, D and an object A in C, the evaluation at A is the functor

For example, the EilenbergSteenrod axioms give an instance when the functor is an equivalence.

faithful
A functor is faithful if it is injective when restricted to each hom-set.
fundamental category
The fundamental category functor is the left adjoint to the nerve functor N. For every category C,
.
fundamental groupoid
The fundamental groupoid of a Kan complex X is the category where an object is a 0-simplex (vertex)
, a morphism is a homotopy class of a 1-simplex (path) and a composition is determined by the
Kan property.
fibered category
A functor : C D is said to exhibit C as a category fibered over D if, for each morphism g: x (y) in D, there
exists a -cartesian morphism f: x' y in C such that (f) = g. If D is the category of affine schemes (say of finite

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type over some field), then is more commonly called a prestack. Note: is often a forgetful functor and in fact the
Grothendieck construction implies that every fibered category can be taken to be that form (up to equivalences in a
suitable sense).
fiber product
Given a category C and a set I, the fiber product over an object S of a family of objects Xi in C indexed by I is the
product of the family in the slice category of C over S (provided there are ). The fiber product of two
objects X and Y over an object S is denoted by and is also called a Cartesian square.
filtered
1. A filtered category (also called a filtrant category) is a nonempty category with the properties (1) given objects i
and j, there are an object k and morphisms i k and j k and (2) given morphisms u, v: i j, there are an object k
and a morphism w: j k such that w u = w v. A category I is filtered if and only if, for each finite category J and
functor f: J I, the set is nonempty for some object i in I.
2. Given a cardinal number , a category is said to be -filtrant if, for each category J whose set of morphisms has
cardinal number strictly less than , the set is nonempty for some object i in I.

finitary monad
A finitary monad or an algebraic monad is a monad on Set whose underlying endofunctor commutes with filtered
colimits.
finite
A category is finite if it has only finitely many morphisms.
forgetful functor
The forgetful functor is, roughly, a functor that loses some of data of the objects; for example, the functor
that sends a group to its underlying set and a group homomorphism to itself is a forgetful functor.
free functor
A free functor is a left adjoint to a forgetful functor. For example, for a ring R, the functor that sends a set X to the
free R-module generated by X is a free functor (whence the name).
Frobenius category
A Frobenius category is an exact category that has enough injectives and enough projectives and such that the class
of injective objects coincides with that of projective objects.
Fukaya category
See Fukaya category.
full
1. A functor is full if it is surjective when restricted to each hom-set.
2. A category A is a full subcategory of a category B if the inclusion functor from A to B is full.
functor
Given categories C, D, a functor F from C to D is a structure-preserving map from C to D; i.e., it consists of an
object F(x) in D for each object x in C and a morphism F(f) in D for each morphism f in C satisfying the conditions:
(1) whenever is defined and (2) . For example,
,
where is the power set of S is a functor if we define: for each function , by
.
functor category
The functor category Fct(C, D) from a category C to a category D is the category where the objects are all the
functors from C to D and the morphisms are all the natural transformations between the functors.

GabrielPopescu theorem
The GabrielPopescu theorem says an abelian category is a quotient of the category of modules.
generator
In a category C, a family of objects is a system of generators of C if the functor is

conservative. Its dual is called a system of cogenerators.

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Grothendieck category
A Grothendieck category is a certain well-behaved kind of an abelian category.
Grothendieck construction
Given a functor , let DU be the category where the objects are pairs (x, u) consisting of an object x in
C and an object u in the category U(x) and a morphism from (x, u) to (y, v) is a pair consisting of a morphism f: x
y in C and a morphism U(f)(u) v in U(y). The passage from U to DU is then called the Grothendieck construction.
Grothendieck fibration
A fibered category.
groupoid
1. A category is called a groupoid if every morphism in it is an isomorphism.
2. An -category is called an -groupoid if every morphism in it is an equivalence (or equivalently if it is a Kan
complex.)

Hall algebra of a category

See RingelHall algebra.
heart
The heart of a t-structure ( , ) on a triangulated category is the intersection . It is an abelian
category.
Higher category theory
Higher category theory is a subfield of category theory that concerns the study of n-categories and -categories.
homological dimension
The homological dimension of an abelian category with enough injectives is the least non-negative intege n such that
every object in the category admits an injective resolution of length at most n. The dimension is if no such integer
exists. For example, the homological dimension of ModR with a principal ideal domain R is at most one.
homotopy category
See homotopy category. It is closely related to a localization of a category.
homotopy hypothesis
The homotopy hypothesis states an -groupoid is a space (less equivocally, an n-groupoid can be used as a
homotopy n-type.)

identity
1. The identity morphism f of an object A is a morphism from A to A such that for any morphisms g with domain A
and h with codomain A, and .
2. The identity functor on a category C is a functor from C to C that sends objects and morphisms to themselves.
3. Given a functor F: C D, the identity natural transformation from F to F is a natural transformation consisting
of the identity morphisms of F(X) in D for the objects X in C.
image
The image of a morphism f: X Y is the equalizer of .
ind-limit
A colimit (or inductive limit) in .
-category
An -category C is a simplicial set satisfying the following condition: for each 0 < i < n,
every map of simplicial sets extends to an n-simplex
where n is the standard n-simplex and is obtained from n by removing the i-th face and the interior (see Kan
fibration#Definition). For example, the nerve of a category satisfies the condition and thus can be considered as an
-category.
initial
1. An object A is initial if there is exactly one morphism from A to each object; e.g., empty set in Set.

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2. An object A in an -category C is initial if is contractible for each object B in C.

injective
An object A in an abelian category is injective if the functor is exact. It is the dual of a projective object.
internal Hom
Given a monoidal category (C, ), the internal Hom is a functor such that is the right
adjoint to for each object Y in C. For example, the category of modules over a commutative ring R has the
internal Hom given as , the set of R-linear maps.
inverse
A morphism f is an inverse to a morphism g if is defined and is equal to the identity morphism on the codomain
of g, and is defined and equal to the identity morphism on the domain of g. The inverse of g is unique and is
denoted by g1. f is a left inverse to g if is defined and is equal to the identity morphism on the domain of g,
and similarly for a right inverse.
isomorphic
1. An object is isomorphic to another object if there is an isomorphism between them.
2. A category is isomorphic to another category if there is an isomorphism between them.
isomorphism
A morphism f is an isomorphism if there exists an inverse of f.

Kan complex
A Kan complex is a fibrant object in the category of simplicial sets.
Kan extension
1. Given a category C, the left Kan extension functor along a functor is the left adjoint (if it exists) to
and is denoted by . For any , the functor is called
the left Kan extension of along f.[7] One can show:

where the colimit runs over all objects in the comma category.
2. The right Kan extension functor is the right adjoint (if it exists) to .
Kleisli category
Given a monad T, the Kleisli category of T is the full subcategory of the category of T-algebras (called Eilenberg
Moore category) that consists of free T-algebras.

lax
The term "lax functor" is essentially synonymous with "pseudo-functor".
length
An object in an abelian category is said to have finite length if it has a composition series. The maximum number of
proper subobjects in any such composition series is called the length of A.[8]
limit
1. The limit (or projective limit) of a functor is

2. The limit of a functor Failed to parse (MathML with SVG or PNG fallback (recommended for

modern browsers and accessibility tools): Invalid response ("Math extension cannot connect to Restbase.")
from server "/mathoid/local/v1/":): f:I^{\text{op}}\to C is an object, if any, in C that satisfies: for any object X in
C, ; i.e., it is an object representing the functor

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3. The colimit (or inductive limit) is the dual of a limit; i.e., given a functor , it satisfies: for any

X, . Explicitly, to give is to give a family of morphisms

such that for any , is . Perhaps the simplest example of a colimit is a
coequalizer. For another example, take f to be the identity functor on C and suppose exists; then the

identity morphism on L corresponds to a compatible family of morphisms such that is the identity.
If is any morphism, then ; i.e., L is a final object of C.
localization of a category
See localization of a category.

monad
A monad in a category X is a monoid object in the monoidal category of endofunctors of X with the monoidal
structure given by composition. For example, given a group G, define an endofunctor T on Set by .
Then define the multiplication on T as the natural transformation given by

and also define the identity map in the analogous fashion. Then (T, , ) constitutes a monad in Set. More
substantially, an adjunction between functors determines a monad in X; namely, one takes
, the identity map on T to be a unit of the adjunction and also defines using the adjunction.
monadic
1. An adjunction is said to be monadic if it comes from the monad that it determines by means of the Eilenberg
Moore category (the category of algebras for the monad).
2. A functor is said to be monadic if it is a constituent of a monadic adjunction.
monoidal category
A monoidal category, also called a tensor category, is a category C equipped with (1) a bifunctor ,
(2) an identity object and (3) natural isomorphisms that make associative and the identity object an identity for ,
subject to certain coherence conditions.
monoid object
A monoid object in a monoidal category is an object together with the multiplication map and the identity map that
satisfy the expected conditions like associativity. For example, a monoid object in Set is a usual monoid (unital
semigroup) and a monoid object in R-mod is an associative algebra over a commutative ring R.
monomorphism
A morphism f is a monomorphism (also called monic) if whenever ; e.g., an injection in Set. In
other words, f is the dual of an epimorphism.

n-category
1. A strict n-category is defined inductively: a strict 0-category is a set and a strict n-category is a category whose
Hom sets are strict (n-1)-categories. Precisely, a strict n-category is a category enriched over strict (n-1)-categories.
For example, a strict 1-category is an ordinary category.
2. The notion of a weak n-category is obtained from the strict one by weakening the conditions like associativity of
composition to hold only up to coherent isomorphisms in the weak sense.
3. One can define an -category as a kind of a colim of n-categories. Conversely, if one has the notion of a (weak)
-category (say a quasi-category) in the beginning, then a weak n-category can be defined as a type of a truncated
-category.
natural
1. A natural transformation is, roughly, a map between functors. Precisely, given a pair of functors F, G from a
category C to category D, a natural transformation from F to G is a set of morphisms in D

satisfying the condition: for each morphism f: x y in C, . For example, writing

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for the group of invertible n-by-n matrices with coefficients

in a commutative ring R, we can view as a functor from [T]he issue of comparing definitions of
the category CRing of commutative rings to the category weak n-category is a slippery one, as it is
hard to say what it even means for two
Grp of groups. Similarly, is a functor from CRing such definitions to be equivalent. [...] It is
to Grp. Then the determinant det is a natural transformation widely held that the structure formed by
from to -*. weak n-categories and the functors,
transformations, ... between them should
2. A natural isomorphism is a natural transformation that is be a weak (n + 1)-category; and if this is
an isomorphism (i.e., admits the inverse). the case then the question is whether
your weak (n + 1)-category of weak
nerve n-categories is equivalent to minebut
The nerve functor N is the functor from Cat to sSet given by whose definition of weak (n + 1)-
. For example, if is a functor in category are we using here... ?
Tom Leinster, A survey of definitions of
(called a 2-simplex), let . Then n-category (http://www.tac.mta.ca
is a morphism in C and also /tac/volumes/10/1/10-01abs.html)
for some g in C. Since is
followed by and since is a functor, . In other words,
encodes f, g and their compositions.
normal
A category is normal if every monic is normal.

The composition
is encoded as a
2-simplex.
object
1. An object is part of a data defining a category.
2. An [adjective] object in a category C is a contravariant functor (or presheaf) from some fixed
category corresponding to the "adjective" to C. For example, a simplicial object in C is a contravariant functor from
the simplicial category to C and a -object is a pointed contravariant functor from (roughly the pointed category of
pointed finite sets) to C provided C is pointed.
op-fibration
A functor :C D is an op-fibration if, for each object x in C and each morphism g : (x) y in D, there is at least
one -coCartesian morphism f: x y' in C such that (f) = g. In other words, is the dual of a Grothendieck
fibration.
opposite
The opposite category of a category is obtained by reversing the arrows. For example, if a partially ordered set is
viewed as a category, taking its opposite amounts to reversing the ordering.

perfect
Sometimes synonymous with "compact". See perfect complex.
pointed
A category (or -category) is called pointed if it has a zero object.
polynomial
A functor from the category of finite-dimensional vector spaces to itself is called a polynomial functor if, for each
pair of vector spaces V, W, F: Hom(V, W) Hom(F(V), F(W)) is a polynomial map between the vector spaces. A
Schur functor is a basic example.
preadditive
A category is preadditive if it is enriched over the monoidal category of abelian groups. More generally, it is R-linear
if it is enriched over the monoidal category of R-modules, for R a commutative ring.
presentable
Given a regular cardinal , a category is -presentable if it admits all small colimits and is -accessible. A category is
presentable if it is -presentable for some regular cardinal (hence presentable for any larger cardinal). Note: Some
authors call a presentable category a locally presentable category.
presheaf

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Another term for a contravariant functor: a functor from a category Cop to Set is a presheaf of sets on C and a functor
from Cop to sSet is a presheaf of simplicial sets or simplicial presheaf, etc. A topology on C, if any, tells which
presheaf is a sheaf (with respect to that topology).
product
1. The product of a family of objects Xi in a category C indexed by a set I is the projective limit of the functor

, where I is viewed as a discrete category. It is denoted by and is the dual of the coproduct of

the family.
2. The product of a family of categories Ci's indexed by a set I is the category denoted by whose class of

objects is the product of the classes of objects of Ci's and whose hom-sets are ; the morphisms

are composed component-wise. It is the dual of the disjoint union.

profunctor
Given categories C and D, a profunctor (or a distributor) from C to D is a functor of the form .
projective
An object A in an abelian category is projective if the functor is exact. It is the dual of an injective
object.

Quillen
Quillens theorem A provides a criterion for a functor to be a weak equivalence.

reflect
1. A functor is said to reflect identities if it has the property: if F(k) is an identity then k is an identity as well.
2. A functor is said to reflect isomorphismsif it has the property: F(k) is an isomorphism then k is an isomorphism as
well.
representable
A set-valued contravariant functor F on a category C is said to be representable if it belongs to the essential image of
the Yoneda embedding ; i.e., for some object Z. The object Z is said to be
the representing object of F.
retraction
A morphism is a retraction if it has a right inverse.

section
A morphism is a section if it has a left inverse. For example, the axiom of choice says
that any surjective function admits a section.
Segal space
Segal spaces were certain simplicial spaces, introduced as models for (, 1)-categories. f is a retraction of g. g is a
semisimple section of f.
An abelian category is semisimple if every short exact sequence splits. For example, a
ring is semisimple if and only if the category of modules over it is semisimple.
Serre functor
Given a k-linear category C over a field k, a Serre functor is an auto-equivalence such that
for any objects A, B.
simple object
A simple object in an abelian category is an object A that is not isomorphic to the zero object and whose every
subobject is isomorphic to zero or to A.

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simplex category
The simplex category is the category where an object is a set [n] = { 0, 1, , n }, n 0, totally ordered in the
standard way and a morphism is an order-preserving function.
simplicial category
A category enriched over simplicial sets.
Simplicial localization
Simplicial localization is a method of localizing a category.
simplicial object
A simplicial object in a category C is roughly a sequence of objects in C that forms a simplicial set.
In other words, it is a covariant or contravariant functor C. For example, a simplicial presheaf is a simplicial
object in the category of presheaves.
simplicial set
A simplicial set is a contravariant functor from to Set, where is the simplex category, a category whose objects
are the sets [n] = { 0, 1, , n } and whose morphisms are order-preserving functions. One writes and
an element of the set is called an n-simplex. For example, is a simplicial set called the
standard n-simplex. By Yoneda's lemma, .
site
A category equipped with a Grothendieck topology.
skeletal
A category is skeletal if isomorphic objects are necessarily identical.
slice
Given a category C and an object A in it, the slice category C/A of C over A is the category whose objects are all the
morphisms in C with codomain A, whose morphisms are morphisms in C such that if f is a morphism from
to , then in C and whose composition is that of C.
small
1. A small category is a category in which the class of all morphisms is a set (i.e., not a proper class); otherwise
large. A category is locally small if the morphisms between every pair of objects A and B form a set. Some authors
assume a foundation in which the collection of all classes forms a "conglomerate", in which case a quasicategory is
a category whose objects and morphisms merely form a conglomerate.[9] (NB: some authors use the term
"quasicategory" with a different meaning.[10])
2. An object in a category is said to be small if it is -compact for some regular cardinal . The notion prominently
appears in Quiilen's small object argument (cf. https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/small+object+argument)
stable
An -category is stable if (1) it has a zero object, (2) every morphism in it admits a fiber and a cofiber and (3) a
triangle in it is a fiber sequence if and only if it is a cofiber sequence.
strict
A morphism f in a category admitting finite limits and finite colimits is strict if the natural morphism
is an isomorphism.
strict n-category
A strict 0-category is a set and for any integer n > 0, a strict n-category is a category enriched over strict (n-1)-
categories. For example, a strict 1-category is an ordinary category. Note: the term "n-category" typically refers to
"weak n-category"; not strict one.
subcanonical
A topology on a category is subcanonical if every representable contravariant functor on C is a sheaf with respect to
that topology.[11] Generally speaking, some flat topology may fail to be subcanonical; but flat topologies appearing in
practice tend to be subcanonical.
subcategory
A category A is a subcategory of a category B if there is an inclusion functor from A to B.
subobject
Given an object A in a category, a subobject of A is an equivalence class of monomorphisms to A; two
monomorphisms f, g are considered equivalent if f factors through g and g factors through f.
subquotient
A subquotient is a quotient of a subobject.

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subterminal object
A subterminal object is an object X such that every object has at most one morphism into X.
symmetric monoidal category
A symmetric monoidal category is a monoidal category (i.e., a category with ) that has maximally symmetric
braiding.

t-structure
A t-structure is an additional structure on a triangulated category (more generally stable -category) that axiomatizes
the notions of complexes whose cohomology concentrated in non-negative degrees or non-positive degrees.
Tannakian duality
The Tannakian duality states that, in an appropriate setup, to give a morphism is to give a pullback
functor along it. In other words, the Hom set can be identified with the functor category
, perhaps in the derived sense, where is the category associated to X (e.g., the derived
category).[12][13]

tensor category
Usually synonymous with monoidal category (though some authors distinguish between the two concepts.)
tensor triangulated category
A tensor triangulated category is a category that carries the structure of a symmetric monoidal category and that of a
triangulated category in a compatible way.
tensor product
Given a monoidal category B, the tensor product of functors and is the coend:

terminal
1. An object A is terminal (also called final) if there is exactly one morphism from each object to A; e.g., singletons
in Set. It is the dual of an initial object.
2. An object A in an -category C is terminal if is contractible for every object B in C.
thick subcategory
A full subcategory of an abelian category is thick if it is closed under extensions.
thin
A thin is a category where there is at most one morphism between any pair of objects.
triangulated category
A triangulated category is a category where one can talk about distinguished triangles, generalization of exact
sequences. An abelian category is a prototypical example of a triangulated category. A derived category is a
triangulated category that is not necessary an abelian category.

universal
1. Given a functor and an object X in D, a universal morphism from X to f is an initial object in the
comma category . (Its dual is also called a universal morphism.) For example, take f to be the forgetful
functor and X a set. An initial object of is a function . That it is initial means
that if is another morphism, then there is a unique morphism from j to k, which consists of a linear
map that extends k via j; that is to say, is the free vector space generated by X.
2. Stated more explicitly, given f as above, a morphism in D is universal if and only if the natural map

is bijective. In particular, if , then taking c to be uX one gets a universal

morphism by sending the identity morphism. In other words, having a universal morphism is equivalent to the
representability of the functor .

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Waldhausen category
A Waldhausen category is, roughly, a category with families of cofibrations and weak equivalences.
wellpowered
A category is wellpowered if for each object there is only a set of pairwise non-isomorphic subobjects.

Yoneda
1. The Yoneda lemma says: for each set-valued contravariant functor F
on C and an object X in C, there is a natural bijection Yonedas Lemma asserts ... in more
evocative terms, a mathematical object X is
best thought of in the context of a category
surrounding it, and is determined by the
where Nat means the set of natural transformations. In particular, the network of relations it enjoys with all the
functor objects of that category. Moreover, to
understand X it might be more germane to
deal directly with the functor representing
it. This is reminiscent of Wittgensteins
is fully faithful and is called the Yoneda embedding.[14] language game; i.e., that the meaning of a
word isin essencedetermined by, in
2. If is a functor and y is the Yoneda embedding of C, then fact is nothing more than, its relations to all
the utterances in a language.
the Yoneda extension of F is the left Kan extension of F along y. Barry Mazur, Thinking about Grothendieck
(http://www.math.harvard.edu/~mazur
/papers
/Thinking.about.Grothendieck%285%29.pd
f)
zero
A zero object is an object that is both initial and terminal, such as a
trivial group in Grp.

1. If one believes in the existence of strongly inaccessible cardinals, then there can be a rigorous theory where
statements and constructions have references to Grothendieck universes.
2. Remark 2.7. of https://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/additive+category
3. Kashiwara & Schapira 2006, Ch. 2, Exercise 2.8.
4. Mac Lane 1998, Ch. III, 3..
5. http://ncatlab.org/nlab/show/Day+convolution
6. Hinich, V. (2013-11-17). "Dwyer-Kan localization revisited" (http://arxiv.org/abs/1311.4128). arXiv:1311.4128
[math].
7. http://www.math.harvard.edu/~lurie/282ynotes/LectureXI-Homological.pdf
8. Kashiwara & Schapira 2006, exercise 8.20
9. Admek, Ji; Herrlich, Horst; Strecker, George E (2004) [1990]. Abstract and Concrete Categories (The Joy of Cats)
(http://katmat.math.uni-bremen.de/acc/) (PDF). New York: Wiley & Sons. p. 40. ISBN 0-471-60922-6.
10. Joyal, A. (2002). "Quasi-categories and Kan complexes". Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra. 175 (1-3): 207222.
doi:10.1016/S0022-4049(02)00135-4 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0022-4049%2802%2900135-4).
11. Vistoli 2004, Definition 2.57.
12. Jacob Lurie. Tannaka duality for geometric stacks. http://math.harvard.edu/~lurie/, 2004.
13. Bhatt, Bhargav (2014-04-29). "Algebraization and Tannaka duality" (http://arxiv.org/abs/1404.7483).
arXiv:1404.7483 [math].
14. Technical note: the lemma implicitly involves a choice of Set; i.e., a choice of universe.

Artin, Michael (1972). Alexandre Grothendieck; Jean-Louis Verdier, eds. Sminaire de Gomtrie Algbrique du
Bois Marie - 1963-64 - Thorie des topos et cohomologie tale des schmas - (SGA 4) - vol. 1. Lecture notes in
mathematics (in French). 269. Berlin; New York: Springer-Verlag. xix+525. ISBN 978-3-540-05896-0.

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doi:10.1007/BFb0081551 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBFb0081551).
Kashiwara, Masaki; Schapira, Pierre (2006). Categories and sheaves.
A. Joyal, The theory of quasi-categories II (http://mat.uab.cat/~kock/crm/hocat/advanced-course/Quadern45-2.pdf)
(Volume I is missing??)
Lurie, J., Higher Algebra (http://www.math.harvard.edu/~lurie/papers/higheralgebra.pdf)
Lurie, J., Higher Topos Theory
Mac Lane, Saunders (1998). Categories for the Working Mathematician. Graduate Texts in Mathematics. 5 (2nd ed.).
New York, NY: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-98403-8. Zbl 0906.18001 (https://zbmath.org/?format=complete&
q=an:0906.18001).
Pedicchio, Maria Cristina; Tholen, Walter, eds. (2004). Categorical foundations. Special topics in order, topology,
algebra, and sheaf theory. Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Its Applications. 97. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 0-521-83414-7. Zbl 1034.18001 (https://zbmath.org/?format=complete&q=an:1034.18001).
Vistoli, Angelo (2004-12-28). "Notes on Grothendieck topologies, fibered categories and descent theory".
arXiv:math/0412512 (https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0412512) .

Groth, M., A Short Course on -categories (http://www.math.uni-bonn.de/~mgroth/InfinityCategories.pdf)

Cisinski's notes (http://www.math.univ-toulouse.fr/~dcisinsk/1097.pdf)
History of topos theory
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/category-theory/
Leinster, Tom (2016-12-29). "Basic Category Theory" (http://arxiv.org/abs/1612.09375). arXiv:1612.09375 [math].
Emily Riehl, A leisurely introduction to simplicial sets (http://www.math.jhu.edu/~eriehl/ssets.pdf)

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