Statistical

How to spell statistical

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce statistical

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does statistical mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the collection, analysis, and interpretation of numerical data.

Statistical in a sentence

• The report relied on statistical analysis of last year's sales.

• There is no statistical evidence that the new policy reduced waiting times.

Where does statistical come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin status, meaning 'standing' or 'condition', the same root that gives us 'state' in the political sense. In the eighteenth century German scholars coined 'Statistik' to describe the systematic study of the facts and figures of a state: its population, taxes, and resources. English borrowed the noun 'statistics' from this German source around the 1780s, and the adjective 'statistical' followed quickly to describe anything relating to that kind of numerical data. Over time the meaning broadened from facts about nations to any analysis of numerical information, which is how we use it today. The buried connection to 'state' explains the 'stat' opening, while the long string of unstressed syllables is what makes the word fiddly to spell.

How the word is built

• statist- (from Latin status: state, condition)
• -ic (relating to)
• -al (adjective suffix)