Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

data warehouse
     
         1. A generic term for a system for storing,
        retrieving and managing large amounts of any type of data.
        Data warehouse software often includes sophisticated
        {compression} and {hashing} techniques for fast searches, as
        well as advanced filtering.
     
        2. A {database}, often remote, containing recent snapshots of
        corporate data.  Planners and researchers can use this
        database freely without worrying about slowing down day-to-day
        operations of the production database.
     
        Compare {data mart}.
     
        (1998-04-30)