datum

/ˈdeɪɾəm/

/ˈdeɪtəm/

Other forms: data

One item of information, one 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. noun

   an item of factual information derived from measurement or research
   synonyms: data point

   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