Biometricians

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Scientists who apply statistical methods to biological and living-organism measurements, especially in genetics and medicine
2. Experts who analyze measurable biological traits and data using mathematical and statistical techniques
3. Researchers trained in measuring and interpreting living things through quantitative methods such as statistics and modeling

Etymology: "Biometricians" is the plural of "biometrician," a person who practises biometrics. The word combines "biometric," itself built from the Greek "bios" (life) and "metron" (measure), with the suffix "-ian," which marks a person skilled in or devoted to a field, as in "physician" or "mathematician." So the name reads literally as a specialist in measuring living things. The "-ian" ending is what turns a field into a practitioner. A biometrician is someone who applies statistical methods to biological data, using the measurement of variation in living populations to answer questions about heredity, growth and evolution. The word thus carries its Greek roots in a fairly direct way: a practitioner of the measurement of life.