Standard Lemma guide

datum

noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈdeɪtəm/
  • /ˈdætəm/
  • /ˈdɑːtəm/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪtəm
  • rhymes with -ætəm
  • rhymes with -ɑːtəm
  • CMU ARPABET: D AE1 T AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: D EY1 T AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Something known or assumed as fact, and is made the basis of reasoning or inference which an intellectual system of any sort (such as knowledge or theoretical framework) is constructed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • a datum of experience
  • given this datum, it follows that

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Singular of data: A single recorded phenomenon, especially obtained by scientific work.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, singular

Examples

  • Holonym: data set

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: data point

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A point, line, plane, or surface with reference to which positions (such as elevations) are measured or indicated. (Examples include a permanent benchmark in leveling or mean sea level in a topographical survey).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: business, cartography, engineering, geography, manufacturing, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, surveying

Examples

  • A geodetic datum is sometimes also called a benchmark.
  • GD&T tells us that the center of a bolt circle is in fact defined by the locations of the holes themselves, as each is a datum.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A floating reference point, or SLDMB, used to evaluate surface currents in a body of water, and often employed by coastal search and rescue.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: nautical, transport

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To provide missing data points by using a mathematical model to extrapolate values that are outside the range of a measuring device.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

an item of factual information derived from measurement or research

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: data point

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: information

Narrower terms: reading, meter reading, indication, statistic

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *deh3-redup. Proto-Indo-European *-ti Proto-Indo-European *dédeh3ti Proto-Italic *didō Latin dō Latin datusnom. Latin datumlbor. English datum Learned borrowing from Latin datum, a nominalization of datus, perfect passive participle of dō, from Proto-Italic *didō, from Proto-Indo-European *dédeh3ti, reduplication of *deh3-, or from *-ti. Doublet of die.

Across languages

Translations

30 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: данна (danna) — single piece of information
  • Bulgarian: изходна величина (izhodna veličina) — single piece of information
  • Catalan: dada — single piece of information
  • Czech: údaj — single piece of information
  • Finnish: tieto — single piece of information
  • French: donnée — single piece of information
  • German: Fakt — single piece of information
  • German: Faktum — single piece of information
  • German: Informationseinheit — single piece of information
  • Greek: δεδομένο (dedoméno) — single piece of information
  • Hindi: दत्त (datt) — single piece of information
  • Hindi: प्रदत्त (pradatt) — single piece of information
  • Ido: datumo — single piece of information
  • Ido: donajo — single piece of information
  • Ido: donatajo — single piece of information
  • Irish: sonra — single piece of information
  • Italian: dato — single piece of information
  • Japanese: データ (dēta) — single piece of information
  • Polish: dana — single piece of information
  • Portuguese: dado — single piece of information
  • Russian: элеме́нт данных (elemént dannyx) — single piece of information
  • Russian: едини́ца данных (jediníca dannyx) — single piece of information
  • Serbo-Croatian: podatak — single piece of information
  • Slovak: dátum — single piece of information
  • Slovene: podatek — single piece of information
  • Spanish: dato — single piece of information
  • Tamil: தரவு (taravu) — single piece of information
  • Turkish: veri — single piece of information
  • Ukrainian: Датум — single piece of information
  • Volapük: nünod — single piece of information