datum

American  

[dey-tuhm, dat-uhm, dah-tuhm] / ˈdeɪ təm, ˈdæt əm, ˈdɑ təm /

noun

plural

data, datums

1. a single piece of information, as a fact, statistic, or code; an item of data.

2. Philosophy.

   1. any fact assumed to be a matter of direct observation.

   2. any proposition assumed or given, from which conclusions may be drawn.

3. Also called sense datum.  Epistemology. the object of knowledge as presented to the mind.

4. Surveying, Civil Engineering. any level surface, line, or point used as a reference in measuring elevations.

5. Surveying. a basis for horizontal control surveys, consisting of the longitude and latitude of a certain point, the azimuth of a certain line from this point, and two constants used in defining the terrestrial spheroid.

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datum British  

/ ˈdeɪtəm, ˈdɑːtəm /

noun

1. a single piece of information; fact

2. a proposition taken for granted, often in order to construct some theoretical framework upon it; a given See also sense datum

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Usage

See data.

Etymology

Origin of datum

First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin: “a thing given,” neuter past participle of dare “to give”

Example Sentences

They fixed the breach immediately, and seemingly no user data was compromised.

From Salon

Yet in the U.S., employees do not appear to be telecommuting at greater rates, according to experts and data.

From MarketWatch

U.S. crude-oil inventories rose more than expected in a sixth consecutive weekly increase, while gasoline and distillate stocks fell, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal

Many Russians are resisting Max mandates in schools and institutions due to data privacy concerns.

From The Wall Street Journal

An Anthropic spokesperson said the release was caused by "human error, not a security breach," and that "no sensitive customer data or credentials were exposed or involved".

From BBC

Related Words

• accomplishment
• action
• case
• circumstance
• data
• evidence
• experience
• factor
• incident
• information
• performance
• phenomenon
• statistic