from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Stochastic \Sto*chas"tic\ (st[-o]*k[a^]s"t[i^]k), a. [Gr.
stochastiko`s, from stocha`zesqai to aim, to guess, fr.
sto`chos mark or aim.]
1. Conjectural; able to conjecture. [Obs.] --Whitefoot.
[1913 Webster]
2. random; chance; involving probability; opposite of
{deterministic}.
[GG]
3. (Statistics) of or pertaining to a process in which a
series of calculations, selections, or observations are
made, each one being randomly determined as a sample from
a probability distribution.
Note: Where physical phenomena are modelled as a stochastic
process, each subsequent calculation of a series may
depend on the result of the previous calculation, as in
the modelling of the process of diffusion of molecules.
Many series may be calculated, and the results
averaged, to estimate the most likely result. See also
{Markov chain}.
[PJC] -- {sto*chas"tic*al*ly}, adv.
[PJC]