Datum
/ˈdeɪtəm/
Definitions
A single piece of information, typically numerical or factual, used as a basis for inference or calculation.
/ˈdeɪtəm/
A single piece of information.
The scientist carefully recorded each datum from the experiment.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're collecting ingredients for a recipe. Each ingredient, like a cup of flour or a teaspoon of sugar, is a datum. They're the individual pieces you use to get your final result.
👶 For kids: A single piece of information, like one number or fact.
More Examples
This datum is crucial to understanding the trend.
We need to collect more data; each datum is important.
How It's Used
"Each experiment provided a new datum for analysis."
"The study collected multiple data points, each representing a datum."
Idioms & expressions
data point
An individual observation or measurement.
"Each data point on the graph represented a specific measurement."
raw data
Original data before processing or analysis.
"The research team analyzed the raw data to find patterns."
From Latin, meaning "something given". Originally used in scientific and mathematical contexts, the term entered wider usage to signify factual information.
The term 'datum' and its plural 'data' have been present in scientific and mathematical writing since the early 18th century.
Memory tip
Think of it as a 'date' (related to time), but it's a piece of information.