Information

Latin informatio — formation, conception, an outline. From informare — to give form to, shape. From in- (into) + forma (form). Originally meant the giving of form or character — instruction, education. The modern sense of data communicated or received emerged in the 19th century.

Reframed in technical terms by Claude Shannon's 1948 information theory — information as the reduction of uncertainty, measured in bits. The 'Information Age' became a label for the post-industrial economy. 'Information warfare,' 'information ecosystem,' 'information overload' — the word now carries the weight of an environmental condition, something humans live inside rather than just receive.