statistics English · revision 4312

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1770|origins=la status}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /stəˈtɪs.tɪks/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|de|Statistik]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) with the English plural -s,^(MWU 2024) from [[la-new|statisticum]] (collegium), “(lecture course on) state affairs”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from Italian statista “one skilled in statecraft”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from [[m|la|status|t=station, position, condition; public order]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from the stem of stare “to stand”, from [[ine-pro|*steh₂-|alt=*sta-|t=to stand]].^(Etymonline) The German word was popularized, and perhaps coined, by Gottfried Achenwall in 1748;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the OED notes that he did not seem to regard it as new.^(Etymonline) Sir John Sinclair is credited with bringing it into English use.^(Etymonline) It is related to [[state]] and [[statistic]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ 1770, as the branch of political science dealing with data about the condition of a state or community.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Numerical data of any kind, collected and classified, is from 1829,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) 1837 in the OED, construed as a plural;^(OED 1989) from this came the study of any subject by means of large enumerations.^(Etymonline) ''Vital statistics'' is from 1829,^(OED 1989) and in colloquial use a woman's bust, waist and hip measurements from 1958.^(OED 1989) In physics, the statistical description of particles is from 1873.^(OED 1989) ''Statistical'' is from 1787 and ''statistician'' from 1825.^(Barnhart 1988) The short form ''stats'' is from 1961.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1748 – German Statistik, Achenwall.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1770 – a branch of political science.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1787 – ''statistical''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1825 – ''statistician''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1829 – numerical data, and ''vital statistics''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1873 – in physics.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1961 – ''stats''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[mathematics]] of collecting, organizing and interpreting numerical data, especially for inferring the characteristics of a population from a sample.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Numerical [[data]] collected and classified.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[biostatistics]]

+ * [[lexicostatistics]]

+ * [[statistician]]

+ * [[Bose-Einstein statistics]]

+ * [[Fermi-Dirac statistics]]

+ * [[vital statistics]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[statistic]]

+ * [[statistical]]

+ * [[state]]

+ * [[status]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In the sense of the science, statistics takes a singular verb; in the sense of data, a plural one.^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}