Extrapolations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of estimating unknown values by extending known data beyond the observed range
2. predicting future outcomes based on existing information and trends
3. drawing inferences or conclusions from incomplete data sets to forecast possibilities

Etymology: "Extrapolations" is simply the plural of "extrapolation," so the history belongs to that noun. It is built from "extrapolate," which combines the Latin prefix "extra-" meaning "outside" or "beyond" with "-polate," a clipping of "interpolate," meaning to insert or alter a text. Mathematicians took "interpolate" to mean estimating values between known data points, and "extrapolate" extended that idea to estimating values beyond the known range. The word "extrapolation" was formed by adding the suffix "-ion" to that verb, the same ending found in words like "revolution" and "compilation." Its basic sense of extending a known pattern past the data you actually have is therefore built into its parts: "extra-" for beyond, and the verb's mathematical origin for estimating from a series of observations.

Synonyms: inferences, conclusions