statistic

US /stəˈtɪs.tɪk/ See IPA manual

Freq #28598

Meanings

1

noun
A single piece of information shown as a number.

The report included a shocking statistic about child poverty.
2

noun
A number calculated from a set of data, such as an average.

The researchers compared key statistics from both groups.
3

noun
A person reduced to just a number in a report, especially a victim.

He died of an overdose and became just another statistic.

Thesaurus

Word family

Derived forms biostatisticgeostatisticout-statisticoutstatisticparastatisticstatisticallystatisticianstatisticismstatisticizationstatisticizesuperstatisticthermostatistic

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic

Simplified etymology

Statistic was borrowed in the late 18th century from German statistisch and Statistik. In 1748, the German writer Aschenwall used Statistik for the field of knowledge concerning the constitutions and resources of states. The German term also gave rise to French statistique. In English, statistic first appeared in the phrase statistic science for a collection of numerical facts about economic conditions.

Etymology

Back-formation from statistics.

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# statistic

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /stəˈtɪs.tɪk/
**Frequency rank:** 28598

## Meanings
1. A single piece of information shown as a number.
2. A number calculated from a set of data, such as an average.
3. A person reduced to just a number in a report, especially a victim.

## Examples
- The report included a shocking statistic about child poverty.
- The researchers compared key statistics from both groups.
- He died of an overdose and became just another statistic.

## Derived Forms
- biostatistic
- geostatistic
- out-statistic
- outstatistic
- parastatistic
- statistically
- statistician
- statisticism
- statisticization
- statisticize
- superstatistic
- thermostatistic

## Etymology
Back-formation from statistics.

## AI Etymology
Statistic is a back-formation from statistics. The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as biostatistic, geostatistic, out-statistic, and outstatistic. In present use it covers a single piece of information shown as a number, a number calculated from a set of data, such as an average, and a person reduced to just a number in a report, especially a victim.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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