classis

noun3

1. •
   A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below divisio and above ordo.
2. •
   An ecclesiastical body or judicatory in certain churches, such as the Dutch Reformed Church. It is intermediate between the consistory and the synod, and corresponds to the presbytery in the Presbyterian church.

   • At Utrecht and Breda there was strong pressure from the Dutch Reformed Church to exclude from employment British preachers who refused to take membership in the classis. — 1982
3. •
   (no longer used) A class or order; sort; type; kind.

   • […]declared his own opinion of that classis of men. — 1702