When we see a curve (or a normal distribution), we describe the highest value as "peak".
Let's imagine we have a curve with only a minimum value (like an inverted hat), what do we call that minimum value?
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3I've also heard trough. – Christoph Hanck Jul 28 '15 at 06:06
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what do you mean by curve? I guess curve is more mathematical that statistical. if you mean a mathematical concept it is called minima. I am interested in knowing a continues density function with just a minima. – TPArrow Jul 28 '15 at 09:06
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Basically it just like a function and then you have one minima. – RockTheStar Jul 28 '15 at 16:50
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“Trough” is commonly used, although perhaps somewhat colloquial.
Zaz
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1I say "trough" all the time, but I've never thought of it as particularly informal. – Matt Krause Aug 22 '16 at 12:53
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In signal processing, a commonly used term is negative peak. In mathematics, you use the terms vertex of parabola, highest or lowest point, maximum or minimum.
Digio
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This doesn't look like an accurate description of how mathematics understands parabolas. Indeed, it is rare indeed for any neighborhood of any local extremum of a density function to be part of a parabola, so the term "vertex of parabola" would almost never apply in this context. – whuber Sep 20 '19 at 14:46
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The peaks are called "local modes" (specifically, the x-value is called the mode, the height would be the density at the mode).
The highest one is sometimes called "the mode".
The bottoms of troughs are often called "antimodes"
Glen_b
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1It's worth noting that this term actually appears in statistical literature. It sounds a lot clunkier than "trough" though. Statisticians aren't always known to come up with clever terminology. – jjet Aug 01 '18 at 14:41