curvilinearityn.
/ˌkəːvɪˌlɪnɪˈarᵻti/, U.S. /ˌkərvəˌlɪniˈɛrədi/ 1. The state or property of being curved or formed from one or more curves.In quot. 1756 perhaps spec.: the use of curves and curved forms in art.
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the world > space > shape > curvature > [noun]
curvation?a1425
curvity?a1425
curvaturea1460
bent1541
bend1597
curvedness1598
flexure1628
incurvation1647
compassedness1652
deflexure1656
flexion1656
curvilinearity1756
deflection1821
wind1825
inflection1837
1756 W. Guthrie in tr. Quintilian Inst. Eloquence I. Pref. p. xxv He has stated the Doctrine of that Curvilinearity, which is so essential to Gracefulness and Beauty.
a1832 J. Bentham Fragm. Ontol. in Wks. (1843) VIII. 197 Qualities that are qualities of the above-mentioned fictitious entities of the first remove. For example, of motion, rectilinearity, curvilinearity, slowness, quickness, and so on.
1869 D. Mackintosh Scenery Eng. & Wales x. 199 Rain in a state of dispersion is possessed of so little power that it cannot keep up a uniform abrasion of the sides of cwms so as to preserve their curvilinearity.
1938 Econometrica 6 253 Their omission corresponds to Dupuit's deliberate neglect of the curvilinearity of the sides of the shaded triangle.
1972 Science 26 May 917/1 The apparent curvilinearity of the x-ray line can be approximated by two straight-line segments.
2014 Jrnl. Health & Social Behaviour 55 451/1 The curvilinearity of the regression line is related to job-education mismatch.
2. Statistics. In a relationship between two or more variables: the state or property of being best approximated by a curved line of best fit (best fit n. at best adj., n.1, and adv. Compounds 2a); (also) the curvature of such a line.
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1924 Jrnl. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 19 440 The means of residuals arrayed according to X2 would tend to show the curvilinearity of the relation of X1 to X2.
1968 Amer. Midland Naturalist 80 311 The power of temperature to deliver a higher correlation coefficient than latitude might have been masked by..a greater curvilinearity in the relationship between temperature and size compared to that between latitude and size.
1974 Jrnl. Sci. Study of Relig. 13 287 A proper theory of the relationship of religion to prejudice must take account of the curvilinearity of the relationship.
2010 M. Karanika-Murray in J. Houdmont & S. Leka Contemp. Occup. Health Psychol. I. viii. 161 The fact that not all studies have found support for expected curvilinearity may be due to such contingencies.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1756