A violin plot is a data visualization that displays the distribution of numerical data across one or more categories by combining a box plot with a kernel density estimate (KDE). Parameters: (1) a box-plot core showing median as a central mark, interquartile range as the box, and whiskers extending to 1.5×IQR; (2) mirrored KDE curves on each side of the box, where the width at any value reflects the estimated density — wide sections indicate high probability mass, narrow sections indicate rarity. Persistence mechanism: the violin plot persists as a reproducible rendering instruction in statistical software (R, Python/Matplotlib, ggplot2), in published papers and textbooks, and in data-analysis curricula — it survives through code, print, and teaching. A competent speaker calls it a data visualization. [formal: violina-graphia | substrate: mind | horizon: a moment | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.06]
Accepted ontology entry
violin plot
A violin plot is a data visualization that displays the distribution of numerical data across one or more categories by combining a box plot with a kernel density estimate (KDE). Parameters: (1) a box-plot core showing median as a central…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A human-made data visualization technique that displays the distribution of numerical data across categories using a shape combining a box plot with a kernel density estimate — wide sections show where data clusters, narrow sections show where it spreads.
Names and aliases
- violin ploten · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrvfy7ya011u2ceilq543hu4INSTANCE_OF →
A violin plot is a specific kind of plot that displays distribution using a kernel density estimate. It extends the box plot with a rotated density shape. Pinning sense: statistical data visualization plot. The specific points at the general — a violin plot IS a plot.
- cmrwuadcq01dksoacknd5l8nlSERVES →
A violin plot is built and maintained for the sake of data visualization — its designed purpose is to show the distribution and density of data. The servant (violin plot) points at the master (data visualization).
Relations to this entry
No accepted relations in this direction.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 23, 2026, 4:49 AM UTC
- Content hash
- 2f8a612afd9b0d0038e747573a5c8a6ec504c6f1f729d12037081501f1c2b0fc