platykurtic

[ plat-i-kur-tik ]

adjective

, Statistics.

1. (of a frequency distribution) less concentrated about the mean than the corresponding normal distribution.
2. (of a frequency distribution curve) having a wide, rather flat distribution about the mode.

platykurtic

/ ˌplætɪˈkɜːtɪk /

adjective

1. statistics (of a distribution) having kurtosis B2 less than 3, less heavily concentrated about the mean than a normal distribution Compare leptokurtic mesokurtic

Word History and Origins

Origin of platykurtic¹

1900–05; platy- + kurt- (irregular < Greek kyrtós bulging, swelling) + -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of platykurtic¹

C20: from platy- + Greek kurtos arched, bulging + -ic

Example Sentences

When a distribution is less concentrated around the mean than the bell curve it is called platykurtic, from the Greek words platus, meaning flat, and kurtos, bulging.

From Literature

William Sealy Gosset, a statistician who worked for the Guinness brewery in Dublin, drew the following aide-mémoire in 1908 to remember which was which: a duck-billed platypus was platykurtic and the kissing kangaroos were leptokurtic.

From Literature