n. pl. kur·to·ses (-sēz′) A quantity indicating how sharply a probability distribution function increases and decreases around the distribution's mean. [Greek kurtōsis, bulging, curvature, from kurtoun, to make bulge, from kurtos, convex; see sker-2 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.