Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Sort \Sort\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sorted}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Sorting}.]
   1. To separate, and place in distinct classes or divisions,
      as things having different qualities; as, to sort cloths
      according to their colors; to sort wool or thread
      according to its fineness.

            Rays which differ in refrangibility may be parted
            and sorted from one another.          --Sir I.
                                                  Newton.

   2. To reduce to order from a confused state. --Hooker.

   3. To conjoin; to put together in distribution; to class.

            Shellfish have been, by some of the ancients,
            compared and sorted with insects.     --Bacon.

            She sorts things present with things past. --Sir J.
                                                  Davies.

   4. To choose from a number; to select; to cull.

            That he may sort out a worthy spouse. --Chapman.

            I'll sort some other time to visit you. --Shak.

   5. To conform; to adapt; to accommodate. [R.]

            I pray thee, sort thy heart to patience. --Shak.

Source : WordNet®

sorting
     n 1: an operation that segregates items into groups according to
          a specified criterion; "the bottleneck in mail delivery
          it the process of sorting" [syn: {sort}]
     2: the basic cognitive process of arranging into classes or
        categories [syn: {classification}, {categorization}, {categorisation}]
     3: grouping by class or kind or size

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

sorting
     
        See {sort}.