Accuracy

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈak.jʊ.ɹə.si/

Definitions

1. The quality or state of being correct, precise, or free from errors
2. The degree to which something matches reality or hits the intended target
3. The measure of how closely a result, measurement, or statement corresponds to the true or accepted value

Etymology: "Accuracy" is a plain formation: the adjective "accurate" with the suffix "-cy" added. "Accurate" comes from the Latin "accuratus," the past participle of "accurare," meaning "to take care" or "to do with care," built from "ad-" ("to") and "cura" ("care"). The same Latin root gives English "curious" and "cure" through different routes, so the family of words is more varied than its shared origin suggests. The "-cy" ending, found in words like "democracy" and "fluency," turns an adjective into a noun for a quality or state. "Accuracy" therefore names the condition of being accurate, a sense that has stayed close to its roots: a careful attention that produces a result matching what is actually true or intended. The noun is first attested in the 1660s, a period when English writers were borrowing many Latin-derived adjectives and then forming abstract nouns from them.

Synonyms: precision, exactness, correctness, truthfulness

Antonyms: inaccuracy, imprecision, incorrectness, falsehood