Heaps' law

proper noun

An empirical law that expresses the correlation between the length of a document or set of documents and the corresponding number of distinct words.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. human sciencesAn empirical law that expresses the correlation between the length of a document or set of documents and the corresponding number of distinct words.

Origin

Named after Harold Stanley Heaps, but was originally discovered by Gustav Herdan.

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Cite this entry
APA

Heaps' law. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Heaps'%20law

MLA

“Heaps' law.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Heaps'%20law. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Heaps' law,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Heaps'%20law.

Source: Heaps' law on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.