barycenter
9.9
A single point that best represents several groups of data by being close to them
- noun
- /ˈbɛrɪˌsɛntər/
- Specialized
:
baricentro
- To find the barycenter of the data set, we averaged the values to determine the central point.
Examples
-
The barycenter serves as a reference point in statistics, representing the ideal average of multiple variables.
-
We compute the barycenter C of coordinates (a, b) and the diameter 2R of G4 as the largest width or height of its bounding box.
Academic text (2016) -
In geometry, the barycenter is used to simplify the calculations of distances between various distributions.
Synonyms
1
8.5
The point in a shape where it balances if made of the same material
is a more general average for distributions that minimizes total distance
Surface Forms
barycenter singular
barycenters plural
Morphology
Etymology
Barycenter comes from Greek parts bar(y)- meaning 'heavy' (as in barometer) and -center meaning 'middle'. In math and statistics it is the 'heavy middle' or average point that best balances all the parts, so it acts as a single representative distribution or point for the data.