Origin: Latin suffix -sion
Regression has 5 different meanings across 1 category:
an abnormal state in which development has stopped prematurely
"After years of rapid growth, the child's language skills entered a regression when he began refusing to speak entirely."
(psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which you flee from reality by assuming a more infantile state
"Under extreme stress, the child exhibited regression by refusing to speak and throwing tantrums like an infant."
the relation between selected values of x and observed values of y (from which the most probable value of y can be predicted for any value of x)
"By analyzing the regression between advertising spend and sales revenue, the company could predict future earnings based on its planned budget."
returning to a former state
"After years of progress, the community experienced a regression when corruption returned to power."
An action of regressing, a return to a previous state.
"The company's rapid growth was followed by a dangerous regression into financial instability after their major client left."
In plain English: Regression is when something goes back to an earlier, less developed state instead of getting better.
"The new treatment reversed his symptoms and prevented any further regression in his condition."
Usage: In statistics and data analysis, regression refers specifically to the mathematical process of modeling relationships between variables rather than simply returning to an earlier condition. Use this term for technical predictions or statistical trends instead of general descriptions of decline or backward movement.
The word regression was borrowed into English from Latin, where it originally meant a moving back or return. Its specific statistical meaning of "returning toward an average" derives directly from this original concept of movement backward.