surprisal

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English

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Etymology

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From surprise +‎ -al.

(information measure): Defined by Myron Tribus in the 1961 book Thermostatics and Thermodynamics.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /sə(ɹ)ˈpɹaɪzəl/

Noun

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surprisal (countable and uncountable, plural surprisals)

  1. (obsolete, military) A surprise attack or ambush; a sudden or unexpected assault. [16th–19th c.]
    • 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, Kupperman, published 1988, page 146:
      Their chiefe attempts are by Stratagems, trecheries, or surprisals.
  2. (obsolete) A sudden coming-upon someone or something unexpectedly or unawares. [17th c.]
  3. (obsolete) A surprising event or occurrence. [17th–19th c.]
  4. (obsolete) The feeling caused by being surprised; surprise, shock, amazement. [17th–19th c.]
  5. An information measure as equal in bits (binary digits) to the base-2 log of 1 over the probability, with the result that the number of choices equals 2n where n is the number of bits.

See also

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