Editing Prediction (section)

{{short description|Statement about a future event}}
{{Other uses}}
{{redirect|predict}}
[[Image:Old Farmer's Almanac 1793 cover.jpg|thumb|''[[The Old Farmer's Almanac]]'' is famous in the US for its (not necessarily accurate) long-range weather predictions.]]

A '''prediction''' ([[Latin]] ''præ-'', "before," and ''dictum'', "something said"<ref>
{{oed | predict}}
</ref>) or [[forecasting| '''forecast''']] is a statement about a [[future]] [[event (probability theory) |event]] or about future [[data]]. Predictions are often, but not always, based upon experience or knowledge of forecasters. There is no universal agreement about the exact difference between "prediction" and "[[estimation]]"; different authors and disciplines ascribe different [[connotation]]s.

Future events are necessarily [[uncertainty |uncertain]], so guaranteed accurate information about the future is impossible. Prediction can be useful to assist in making [[planning |plans]] about possible developments.