Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Data \Da"ta\, n. pl. [L. pl. of datum.]
   See {Datum}.

Datum \Da"tum\, n.; pl. {Data}. [L. See 2d {Date}.]
   1. Something given or admitted; a fact or principle granted;
      that upon which an inference or an argument is based; --
      used chiefly in the plural.

            Any writer, therefore, who . . . furnishes us with
            data sufficient to determine the time in which he
            wrote.                                --Priestley.

   2. pl. (Math.) The quantities or relations which are assumed
      to be given in any problem.

   {Datum line} (Surv.), the horizontal or base line, from which
      the heights of points are reckoned or measured, as in the
      plan of a railway, etc.

Source : WordNet®

data
     See {datum}

data
     n : a collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn;
         "statistical data" [syn: {information}]

datum
     n : an item of factual information derived from measurement or
         research [syn: {data point}]
     [also: {data} (pl)]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

data
     
         /day't*/ (Or "raw data")
        Numbers, {characters}, {images}, or other method of recording,
        in a form which can be assessed by a human or (especially)
        input into a {computer}, stored and {processed} there, or
        transmitted on some {digital channel}.  Computers nearly
        always represent data in {binary}.
     
        Data on its own has no meaning, only when interpreted by some
        kind of {data processing system} does it take on meaning and
        become {information}.
     
        People or computers can find patterns in data to perceive
        information, and information can be used to enhance
        {knowledge}.  Since knowledge is prerequisite to wisdom, we
        always want more data and information.  But, as modern
        societies verge on {information overload}, we especially need
        better ways to find patterns.
     
        1234567.89 is data.
     
        "Your bank balance has jumped 8087% to $1234567.89" is
        information.
     
        "Nobody owes me that much money" is knowledge.
     
        "I'd better talk to the bank before I spend it, because of
        what has happened to other people" is wisdom.
     
        (1999-04-30)