likelihood English · revision 15020

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1398}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈlaɪ.kli.hʊd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

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+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|liklihod]], formed from [[likely]] and [[-hood]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Likeness, resemblance: 1398 in the OED, the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense of probability, the state of being likely, is from the mid-15th century (about 1449).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Phrases such as ''in all likelihood'' are from 1433,^(OED 1989) and something likely, a ground for inference, from 1541.^(OED 1989) The quality of promising success is from 1596, now only an echo of Shakespeare.^(OED 1989) In statistics, likelihood is a function of a hypothesis given the data (1922), as in the ''likelihood ratio'' (1938).^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1398 – likeness.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1433 – in all likelihood.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1449 – probability.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1596 – promise of success.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1922 – likelihood (statistics).^(OED 1989)

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+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The state of being probable; [[probability]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something probable.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(statistics)'' The probability of observed data regarded as a function of the parameters or hypotheses.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[likely]]

+ * [[like]]

+ * [[likeness]]

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}