What it means
A cursive l, used so it is not mistaken for the digit 1. It stands for a length, a log-likelihood or a loss, and in ℓ¹ and ℓ² for sequence spaces and norms.
Read aloud in real formulas
ℓ(θ) = log L(θ)
Aethel says
l of theta equals log L of theta
the log-likelihood
Typing it
- LaTeX
- \ell
- Unicode
- U+2113
Questions
How do you say ℓ out loud?
It is usually read “ell”, and also “l”.
What does ℓ mean in maths?
A cursive l, used so it is not mistaken for the digit 1. It stands for a length, a log-likelihood or a loss, and in ℓ¹ and ℓ² for sequence spaces and norms.
How do you type ℓ?
In LaTeX, write \ell. Its Unicode code point is U+2113.