probability English · revision 10489
17 Oct 2026, 03:01 by bogdan “en10k b0362: convenience … inclusion”
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=mid-15th century|origins=frm probabilité|origins=la probabilitas}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˌpɹɒb.əˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/ ''(UK)''; /ˌpɹɑ.bəˈbɪl.ə.ti/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is Middle English probabilite, from Old French probabilité and directly from Latin [[m|la|probābilitās|t=credibility, probability]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) from probābilis, provable, credible (see [[probable]]).^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Likelihood, the appearance of truth: the mid-15th century in Etymonline, 1551 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Something likely to be true or happen is from the 1570s (1576).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''In all probability'' is from before 1602.^(OED 1989) The mathematical sense, the frequency with which a proposition is found true or an event occurs, measured as a ratio, is from 1718.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In the United States ''probabilities'' were weather forecasts (1875), and ''Old Probabilities'' a humorous name for the chief signal officer who issued them.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * mid-15th century – likelihood.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1576 – a probable event.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1718 – mathematical probability.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1875 – weather probabilities (US).^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # The quality of being [[probable]]; likelihood.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # A probable event or situation.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+ # ''(mathematics, statistics)'' A measure from 0 to 1 of how likely an event is to occur.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[improbability]]
+ * [[nonprobability]]
+ * [[probabilistic]]
+ * [[probit]]
+ * [[conditional probability]]
+ * [[joint probability]]
+ * [[probability density]]
+ * [[probability density function]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[probable]]
+ * [[probably]]
+ * [[prove]]
+ * [[probe]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}