Some Linguistic Aspects of the Term “Statistics”
Definition
:1. Introduction
2. The Origin of the Term “Statistics”
- i.
- In 1633, not 1589 as some scholars erroneously state [6] (p. 447), Gerolamo Ghilini (1589–1668) used the word “Statistics” as an adjective in the title of his book, “Ristretto della civile, politica, statistica e militare scienza”.
- ii.
- According to the Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, the earliest known occurrence of the word “Statistics” is in the 1660 lectures by Hermann Conring (1601–1681) [7] (p. 356).
- iii.
- In 1672, a book entitled “Microscopium Statisticum’s full title is Microscopium Statisticum: quo status imperii Romano-Germanici cum primis extraordinarius, ad vivum repræsentatur”, was published in Germany under the pseudonym Helenus Politanus. The author’s identity remains unknown. [5] (p. 6)
- iv.
- Before 1749, the terms “political arithmetic” and “tabular arithmetic” were used to denote anything that has to do with the present use of statistics.
- v.
- In 1749, the German professor Gottfried Achenwall (1719–1772) was the first one to use the term “Statistics” in his work entitled “Statsverfassung der heutigen vornehmsten Europaischen Reiche und Volker” [8]. Achenwall used the word “statistik” to refer to the collection and tabulation of numbers about the state.
- vi.
- In 1770, the term was used by W. Hooper when he translated J. F. von Bielfeld’s (1717–1770) “The Elements of Universal Erudition”. Bielfeld, and hence Hooper, did not mention Achenwall [9].
- vii.
- In 1787, E. A. W. Zimmermann (1743–1815) introduced into English the term “Statistics” in his “A political survey of the present state of Europe”. Zimmermann, contrary to Bielfeld, mentioned Achenwall and his term “Statistics” [10] (p. 1).
- viii.
- In 1790, Sir John Sinclair (1754–1835) and his work “Statistical Account of Scotland” established the term “Statistics” as we understand it today [11].
3. The Etymology of the Term “Statistics”
- The American Heritage Dictionary of the American Language informs us that the word “Statistics” derives from (a) the German “Statistik”, i.e., political science, (b) the new Latin “Statisticus”, i.e., of state affairs, (c) the Italian “Statista”, i.e., person skilled in statecraft, (d) the old Italian “Stato”, i.e., state, and (e) the Latin “Status”, i.e., position, the form of government.
- Bessant and MacPherson report, «the term statistics … concerns the collection of numerical and non-numerical information about the state (from which the word was originally derived)» [14].
- Lovric states in his International Encyclopedia of Statistical Science in the entry “Statistics: Origin of that Term”, «It is widely believed that the term statistics originated from the Latin Status (situation, condition) of population and economics; in late Latin, the same term meant State. Another root of the term comes from the Italian word stato (state), and a statista (a person who deals with affairs of state)» [15].
- Martynenko writes that, «The point is that the mystifying interpretation of the term statistics correlates to its primary meaning, which arose in the middle of the 18th century for the description of political, economic, demographic, etc. state of a country. “State”, a word of Latin origin, rooted in Germanic languages (cf. German “Staat”), and acquired the meaning “mode or condition of being” at the late stages of Latin. This status was then described by the discipline called political arithmetic and later by state science» [16] (p. 107).
- Miller states the words “Statistic”, “Statistical” and “Statistics” «come indirectly from the mediaeval Latin “status” for a political “state”. More directly statistics entered English from the German Statistik, as a term comparable to mathematics or ethics» [17].
- Finally, in Schwartzman, we read, «The word “statistic” is defined as follows: “statistic (noun), statistics (noun), statistical (adjective), statistician (noun): the Latin verb stare meant the same as its English cognate stand; both are descended from the Indo-European root sta– “to stand.” From the Latin verb came the noun status, literally “a standing, a condition.” The word state, which comes from status, is therefore a synonym of condition. A nation as a whole is also called a state because it is composed of the set of all conditions in a certain geographic area. As a result the term state came to be associated with government and politics…. Although the etymology of the word statistics is complicated, the meaning of the underlying Indo-European root is still apparent: statistics tell you how things “stand”.”» [18] (p. 206).
4. From “Setting Up” to “Statistics” via “Stacking”, “Balancing”, “Weighing” and “Measuring”
5. Concluding Discussion
Funding
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
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Missiakoulis, S. Some Linguistic Aspects of the Term “Statistics”. Encyclopedia 2024, 4, 1286-1291. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia4030084
Missiakoulis S. Some Linguistic Aspects of the Term “Statistics”. Encyclopedia. 2024; 4(3):1286-1291. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia4030084
Chicago/Turabian StyleMissiakoulis, Spyros. 2024. "Some Linguistic Aspects of the Term “Statistics”" Encyclopedia 4, no. 3: 1286-1291. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia4030084