Etymologically
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dato

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Pronunciation

Forms

dato m (plural dati)[1]

Etymology

The adjective is the past participle of dare; it is inherited from Latin datus (“given”), the participle of dō (“to give”).[2][3][4] The noun, “a datum”, is a learned word from the Latin participle used as a noun, Latin datum (“what has been given”).[5][1][4] Latin “dō” goes back through Proto-Italic *didō to Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- (“to give”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the early 13th century, in the poet Iacopo Mostacci, in the sense “given over (to), devoted”.[2] Bono Giamboni (before 1292) uses it for what has been handed to someone, and Giovanni Villani (before 1348) in the sense “fixed, determined”.[2][5] Old Italian also had the noun dato “gift”, as in the proverb Ogni dato vuole il mandato, “every gift calls for a return”.[6][4]

Semantic evolution

The noun in its modern sense began in mathematics: in 1573 Egnatio Danti explains that every theorem and problem contains il dato (what is supposed) and il quesito (what is sought), and Galileo and Guido Grandi use it the same way.[2][5] In the 19th century Tommaseo complained that writers steeped in French overused it after donnée.[6] Today the plural dati is the everyday word for facts and figures, statistics and, in computing, data: banca dati “database”, elaborazione dei dati “data processing”.[7][8][5]

The participle also gave conjunctions: dato che “given that, since” (14th century) and dato e non concesso che “granted, but not conceded, that”.[7][9][6][4]

Timeline

  • Early 13th century – Iacopo Mostacci uses dato in the sense “devoted”.[2]
  • Before 1292 – Bono Giamboni uses it for what has been handed over.[2]
  • 14th century – Dato che is recorded.[4]
  • Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it in the sense “determined”.[2]
  • 1573 – Egnatio Danti uses the noun for the given data of a problem.[2][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Certain, particular, given: A un dato punto tutti si sono alzati e sono usciti.[7][10][8]
  2. Given, considered (in absolute constructions): Data l'ora, conviene prendere un taxi.[10][9]
  3. (uncommon) devoted or given (to): un ragazzo dato allo studio.[8][11]

Noun

  1. A datum, a known or verified fact used as the basis for reasoning or research, (plural) data: Prima di decidere dobbiamo raccogliere più dati.[7][10][8]
  2. (mathematics) A given value of a problem.[8][5][1]
  3. (computing) An item of information coded so that a computer can process it: dati personali, dati sensibili.[7][10][8]
  4. (linguistics) The part of an utterance that carries information already known.[8][11]
  5. (obsolete) A gift.[7][6]

Word family

  • dato di fatto
  • banca dati

Usage notes

Dato di fatto is a certain, undeniable fact.[9][11] Old Italian and northern dialects also had dato “die” (14th century), which the LEI files under the Latin datum of the dice game, and the 15th-century administrative dato “duty, tax” came from Medieval Latin datum “tribute”.[12][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  3. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 1214
  5. ^ a b c d e f Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  6. ^ a b c d Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
  7. ^ a b c d e f De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  9. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  10. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  11. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
  12. ^ Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 19, 327