Data
Any raw, aggregate, analyzed, or framed information. Also our personal preferences and habits โ packaged and sold without actual consent or remuneration.
How We Say It
dayยทtษ
Where It Comes From
Latin data โ things given. Plural of datum โ that which is given. From dare โ to give. Originally a mathematical and logical term for premises taken as given. Entered scientific English in the 17th century, then statistics in the 19th, and computing in the 20th.
How It's Been Used
Grammatically plural in formal scientific writing โ 'the data are' โ though singular use ('the data is') has become standard in everyday speech. 'Big data' entered usage in the 1990s. The shift from data as scientific observation to data as commodity โ what tech companies collect, package, and sell โ is one of the defining transformations of the digital era.