Etymologically
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data

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:51. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈdeɪ.tə/, /ˈdɑː.tə/, US /ˈdeɪ.t̬ə/, /ˈdæt̬.ə/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin data (“things given”), the plural of datum (“a thing given”),[2][3][4] the neuter past participle of dare (“to give”),[2] from Proto-Indo-European *dō- (“to give”).[2] The same Latin form, used to head medieval letters, gave date in the sense of time.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Things given or granted, facts assumed as the basis of reasoning: 1646,[6][7] at first a term in philosophy.[5] In classical use it was a fact given as the basis for a calculation in mathematics.[2]

Semantic evolution

The sense “numerical facts collected for reference” is from 1897,[2] and “information stored and processed by computers” from 1946.[2][8] Data processing is from 1954, database from 1962 and data entry from 1969.[2]

Timeline

  • 1646 – things given or assumed.[6]
  • 1897 – collected numerical facts.[2]
  • 1946 – computer information.[2][8]
  • 1954 – data processing.[2]
  • 1962 – database.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Facts or information, especially when organized for analysis or used in reasoning.
  2. Information in a form that a computer can process.
  3. Values obtained from scientific experiments.

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary notes that many still treat data as a plural, as the New York Times did in the headline “Data Are Elusive on the Homeless”, while others treat it as a mass noun taking a singular verb.[9] The Word Origins dictionary adds that British English often treats it as singular, while Americans and Australians more often say the data are, a use increasingly common in Britain.[5]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin