correlation coefficient

noun

Statistics.

1. one of a number of measures of correlation, usually assuming values from +1 to −1.

correlation coefficient

noun

1. statistics a statistic measuring the degree of correlation between two variables as by dividing their covariance by the square root of the product of their variances. The closer the correlation coefficient is to 1 or –1 the greater the correlation; if it is random, the coefficient is zero See also Pearson's correlation coefficient Spearman's rank-order coefficient

Word History and Origins

Origin of correlation coefficient¹

First recorded in 1905–10