|

datum

One item of information, on fact, one statistic, is on its own a datum, the singular form of the more commonly used "data." If you can't find one single datum to support your theory, it's time for another theory.

Whereas several bits of information taken together are called data, one is a datum. The word comes from the Latin for "something given." Datum is also used for a starting point of measurement, often used in surveying or engineering. The single datum that your experiment provided was that you are tall, dark and handsome. Now stop looking in the mirror and do some research.

DEFINITIONS OF: datum

1

n an item of factual information derived from measurement or research

Synonyms:
data point
Types:
show 12 types...
hide 12 types...
indication, meter reading, reading
a datum about some physical state that is presented to a user by a meter or similar instrument
statistic
a datum that can be represented numerically
average, norm
a statistic describing the location of a distribution
demographic
a statistic characterizing human populations (or segments of human populations broken down by age or sex or income etc.)
deviation
the difference between an observed value and the expected value of a variable or function
moment
the n-th moment of a distribution is the expected value of the n-th power of the deviations from a fixed value
distribution free statistic, nonparametric statistic
a statistic computed without knowledge of the form or the parameters of the distribution from which observations are drawn
parametric statistic
any statistic computed by procedures that assume the data were drawn from a particular distribution
time series
a series of values of a variable at successive times
vital statistics
data relating to births and deaths and health and diseases and marriages
clock time, time
a reading of a point in time as given by a clock
miles per hour, mph
a speedometer reading for the momentary rate of travel
Type of:
information
knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction
WORD FAMILY
USAGE EXAMPLES