data
Syllabification: (da·ta)
Pronunciation: /ˈdatə, ˈdātə/
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Definition of data
noun
Origin:
mid 17th century (as a term in philosophy): from Latin, plural of datum
In Latin, data is the plural of datum and, historically and in specialized scientific fields, it is also treated as a plural in English, taking a plural verb, as in the data were collected and classified. In modern nonscientific use, however, it is generally not treated as a plural. Instead, it is treated as a mass noun, similar to a word like information, which takes a singular verb. Sentences such as data was collected over a number of years are now widely accepted in standard English.