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View synonyms for datum

datum

[ dey-tuhm, dat-uhm, dah-tuhm ]

noun

, plural da·ta [dey, -t, uh, dat, -, uh, dah, -t, uh] da·tums
  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. Compare ideatum.
  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.


datum

/ 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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Usage Note

See data.
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Word History and Origins

Origin of datum1

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

Origin of datum1

C17: from Latin: something given; see data
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Example Sentences

Ransomware gangs regularly target businesses big and small by crippling computers and stealing data, and often come away with multimillion-dollar paydays when victims see no other way out but to pay the ransom.

In Canada, Ontario recently became the first province to mandate collecting data that includes racial categories for all encounters with the public involving force.

From Fortune

Strictly according to the pay data, if she’s a manager getting paid what other managers are getting paid, superficially there is no problem.

From Fortune

When I look at our data, most of our podcasts are consumed on desktop or laptop, not in cars.

From Digiday

Her team has since been sending NIH enrollment updates daily, and she said she will share data with NIH as it becomes available.

From Fortune

Beinart is upset with me for asking "what is the point of this datum?"

The shaded rectangles represent the distribution of shear due to the load at C, while no may be termed the datum line of shear.

It is clear, in the first place, that there can be no datum apart from a belief.

What he observes is, at the stage of science which he has reached, a datum for his science.

But in each case it is only the sensation that ought, in strictness, to be called a datum.

Each new datum adds to our knowledge, which cannot run ahead of that which produces it.

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