Definition 1.11 (Faithful / full / essentially surjective). Let F:CD be a functor.

  • (a)
    We say F is faithful if, given f and g in morC, (Ff=Fg, domf=domg, codf=codg)f=g.
  • (b)
    We say F is full if, for every g:FAFB in D, there exists f:AB in C with Ff=g.
  • (c)
    We say F is essentially surjective if, for any BobD, there exists AobC with FAB.

Note that if F is full and faithful, it’s essentially injective: given FA gFB in D, the unique AfB with Ff=g is an isomorphism.

We say DC is a full subcategory if the inclusion DC is a full functor.