variance
nounUK /ˈvɛə.ɹi.əns/ · US /ˈvæɹ.i.əns/
Etymology From Middle English variance, variaunce, equivalent to vary + -ance, from Old French variance or directly from Anglo-Latin variaunce, veriaunce, wariaunce; all from Latin variantia.
9 senses
- 1The act of varying or the state of being variable.
- 2A difference between what is expected and what is…
- 3The state of differing or being in conflict.
- 4An official permit to do something that is ordinarily…
- 5A discrepancy between two legal documents.
- 6A departure from a cause of action originally in a complaint.
- 7The second central moment in probability; the square of…
- 8The number of degrees of freedom in a system.
- 9Covariance and contravariance generally.
The act of varying or the state of being variable.
A difference between what is expected and what is observed; deviation.
- Certain other factors were considered to explain the variance from expected figures. All seven aviators smoked. Each considered himself to be in good physical condition, though none found the time to exercise regularly. No aviator was obese.1973, United States Army Aviation Digest - Volume 19, page 18:
- This remains an important tool and relies on simple subtraction to evaluate the difference ( variance ) between a planned result and an actual measurement.2004, F. L. Harrison, Dennis Lock, Advanced Project Management: A Structured Approach, page 212:
2 more examples
- Whenever a patient is recorded as having a variance (V), it is important to return soon afterwards to see if the care intervention has helped.2012, Penny Howard, Becky Whittaker (nee Chady), Karen Holland, Placement Learning in Cancer & Palliative Care Nursing, page 160:
- The study not only showed IQ variance between children the same parents, but because the authors had the IQ scores of various parents, it demonstrated that parents with higher IQs tended to have more kids, ruling out the dysgenic fertility theory as a driver of falling IQ scores and highlighting the role of environmental factors instead.2018 June 13, Rory Smith, “IQ scores are falling and have been for decades, new study finds”, in CNN, archived from the original on 25 Aug 2023:
The state of differing or being in conflict.
- But here, again, is the old variance between nature and fortune: each seems to delight in marring the work of the other.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Chapter XXVII. Lady Marchmont to Sir Jasper Meredith.”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 246:
An official permit to do something that is ordinarily forbidden by regulations.
Law A discrepancy between two legal documents.
Law A departure from a cause of action originally in a complaint.
Mathematics, Sciences, Statistics The second central moment in probability; the square of the standard deviation.
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Programming, Sciences Covariance and contravariance generally.
- Depending on the variance of the type constructor, the subtyping relation of the simple types may be either preserved, reversed, or ignored for the respective complex types.