mean deviation

noun

, Statistics.

1. a measure of dispersion, computed by taking the arithmetic mean of the absolute values of the deviations of the functional values from some central value, usually the mean or median.

mean deviation

noun

1. the difference between an observed value of a variable and its mean
2. Alsomean deviation from the meanmean deviation from the medianaverage deviation a measure of dispersion derived by computing the mean of the absolute values of the differences between observed values of a variable and the variable's mean

mean deviation

1. In a statistical distribution, the average of the absolute values of the differences between individual numbers and their mean.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mean deviation¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

“I think he brought a lot of drama, a lot of flair, a lot of control and a lot of power to the band,” said rock journalist Jeff Wagner, author of “Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal.”

From Seattle Times

Both Catholic and Protestant popular usage has so limited the Biblical word "sin" to mean deviation from moral laws, says Tillich, that he feels the word "estrangement" is a valuable "reinterpretation of sin from a religious point of view."

From Time Magazine Archive

The salinity of the English Channel undergoes an annual change, being highest in winter and spring and lowest in summer, and this change is better marked in the eastern area, where the mean deviation from the annual mean reaches 0.3 pro mille, than it is farther west with a mean deviation of 0.1 pro mille.

From Project Gutenberg

If the refracting angle of the prism is small, then the ratio of the dispersion to the mean deviation of the two rays is the dispersive power of the material of the prism.

From Project Gutenberg

In another trial with the new musket-rifle, the mean deviation at two hundred yards was 4.4 vertical, 3.4 horizontal.

From Project Gutenberg