donnée

American  

[do-ney] / dɒˈneɪ /

noun

1. a set of artistic or literary premises or assumptions.

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donnée British  

/ dɔne /

noun

1. a subject or theme

2. a basic assumption or fact

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Etymology

Origin of donnée

1875–80; < French: literally, given, noun use of feminine past participle of donner to give < Latin dōnāre; see donate

Example Sentences

And with that donnée, as Henry James would have called it, the excitement begins.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 6, 2016

We must grant the artist his subject, his idea, what the French call his donnée; our criticism is applied only to what he makes of it.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 19, 2014

I think it’s the most daring donnée a novel has ever taken on, which is to make a novel that’s exciting about boredom.

From New York Times • Apr. 8, 2011

J'allai trouver Hoyarbarach, qui me confirma la permission qu'il m'avoit donnée de venir avec lui, et qui me recommenda de ne point quitter la troupe.

From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 10 Asia, Part III by Hakluyt, Richard

Je leur ai demandé du pain, et c'est une pierre qu'ils m'ont donnée....

From Collections and Recollections by Russell, George William Erskine