probable error

American  

noun

Statistics.

1. a quantity formerly used as a measure of variability: equal to 0.6745 times the standard deviation. A normally distributed population has half of its elements within one probable error of the mean.

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probable error Scientific  

/ prŏb′ə-bəl /

1. The amount by which the arithmetic mean of a sample is expected to vary because of chance alone.

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Etymology

Origin of probable error

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

The probable error of a declination from a single transit was ±0″.141, and judging from the accidental errors, the series ought to give trustworthy results.

From Astronomical Discovery by Turner, Herbert Hall

When the rainfall of three seasons is taken into account the coefficient rises to +0.570, or 8.7 times the probable error, while with four years of rainfall the coefficient begins to fall off.

From Climatic Changes Their Nature and Causes by Huntington, Ellsworth

Page 17: "Manuel Commenus" probable error for "Manuel Comnenus".

From Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln A Short Story of One of the Makers of Mediaeval England by Marson, Charles L. (Charles Latimer)

These coefficients are all small, but the number of individual cases, 600 months, is so large that the probable error is greatly reduced, being only ±0.027 or ±0.028.

From Climatic Changes Their Nature and Causes by Huntington, Ellsworth

The precipitation of two preceding seasons, however, has some effect on the trees, as appears in the second line of Section A, where the correlation coefficient is +0.288, or 3.2 times the probable error.

From Climatic Changes Their Nature and Causes by Huntington, Ellsworth