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/dˈeɪtə/ /dˈætə/ Listen

noun

Datum n. (pl. data)

1.

Something given or admitted; a fact or principle granted; that upon which an inference or an argument is based; used chiefly in the plural. "Any writer, therefore, who... furnishes us with data sufficient to determine the time in which he wrote."

2.

A single piece of information; a fact; especially a piece of information obtained by observation or experiment; used mostly in the plural.

3.

pl. (Math.) The quantities or relations which are assumed to be given in any problem.

4.

(Surveying) A point, line, or level surface used as a reference in measuring elevations.

Datum line (Surv.), the horizontal or base line, from which the heights of points are reckoned or measured, as in the plan of a railway, etc.

Data n. pl.

1.

See Datum.

2.

A collection of facts, observations, or other information related to a particular question or problem; as, the historical data show that the budget deficit is only a small factor in determining interest rates. Note: The term in this sense is used especially in reference to experimental observations collected in the course of a controlled scientific investigation.

3.

(Computers) Information, most commonly in the form of a series of binary digits, stored on a physical storage medium for manipulation by a computer program. It is contrasted with the program which is a series of instructions used by the central processing unit of a computer to manipulate the data. In some conputers data and execuatble programs are stored in separate locations.

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Etymology of 'Data'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Data" Quotes from Famous Books

... maintained that experience furnishes the principles of every science; but, while his conception was just, there was not sufficient experience then accumulated from which to generalize with effect. He did not sufficiently verify his premises. His reasoning was correct upon the data given, as in the famous syllogism, "All black birds are crows; this bird is black; therefore this bird is a crow." The defect of the syllogism is not in the reasoning, but in the truth of the major premise, since all black birds are not crows. It is only a most extensive ...

— The Old Roman World • John Lord

... was able to intersect some of the principal hills, and so determine its place and direction. I named the most westerly feature, Mount Gray; the lofty central mass, the Gowen Range, and a bold summit forming the eastern portion, Mount Koenig. I had now obtained data sufficient to enable me to determine the extent of the lower basin of the river, by laying down the position and direction of the nearest ranges. The last-mentioned appeared flat-topped, and presented yellow ...

— Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia • Thomas Mitchell

... to be regretted and the indispensable necessity for a sound currency becomes the more manifest when we reflect on the vast amount of the internal commerce of the country. Of this we have no statistics nor just data for forming adequate opinions. But there can be no doubt but that the amount of transportation coastwise by sea, and the transportation inland by railroads and canals, and by steamboats and other modes of conveyance over the surface of our vast rivers and immense lakes, and the value of ...

— Complete State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to the Present • Various

... Their data are made up from the revenue derived from a capitation tax, which is so much per head for all grown up persons; but as it is the interest of all who may be called upon to pay it to keep out of the way during the period of its collection, ...

— Recollections of Manilla and the Philippines - During 1848, 1849 and 1850 • Robert Mac Micking

... his apostles, That the land is full of fossils, That the waters swarm with fishes Shaped according to his wishes, That every pool is fertile In fancy kinds of turtle, New birds around him singing, New insects, never stinging, With a million novel data About the articulata, And facts that strip off all husks From the history ...

— The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 16, No. 97, November, 1865 • Various

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