What does likelihood mean in math?

Answer 1

In mathematics, likelihood refers to a statistical measure of how probable a particular set of parameters is given a specific observed outcome. It is often used in the context of likelihood functions, which quantify the plausibility of different parameter values based on observed data. In Bayesian statistics, likelihood plays a crucial role in updating prior beliefs with new evidence to derive posterior distributions. Essentially, it helps assess how well a statistical model explains the observed data.