Abstract
This paper explores in a metrological perspective the basic characteristics of an (i) experimental process that (ii) provides publicly trustworthy information (iii) on the property of an object as a value of that property (iv) through the comparison of the property and a reference set of properties of the same kind, at the same time not requiring that the property is quantitative. The conclusion is that such a process, called here a nominal property evaluation, is not only both logically and operatively possible, but actually shares most of the fundamental features of measurement, and in particular the possibility to provide publicly trustworthy information. Hence the proposed conceptual framework paves the way toward a harmonized treatment of nominal properties in metrology.