Data ( / ˈ d eɪ t ə / day-tə, / ˈ d æ t ə / da-tə, or / ˈ d ɑː t ə / dah-tə) are qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which information and then knowledge are derived. Raw data, i.e., unprocessed data, refers to a collection of numbers, characters, images or other outputs from devices that collect information to convert physical quantities into symbols.

Physical computer memory elements consists of an addresses and a byte/word of data storage. All data can be reduced to key/value pair combinations. Supersets of this idea, where keys are derived, and values are arranged, relatively, are called data structures. They are also used in peripheral devices.

The word data is the plural of datum, neuter past participle of the Latin dare, "to give", hence "something given". In discussions of problems in geometry, mathematics, engineering, and so on, the terms givens and data are used interchangeably. Also, data are representations of a fact, figure, and idea. Such usage is the origin of data as a concept in computer science: data are numbers, words, images, etc., accepted as they stand.

Noun

data

1. (uncountable) information, especially encoded information that can be processed by computers
2. (colloquial) (dated) short for datamaskin, a computer

   Det är fel på datan

   Something's wrong with the computer

   • 1966, Olof Johannesson (pen name of Hannes Alfvén), "Sagan om den stora datamaskinen"

     De första datorna var ju också mycket enkla.

     And the first computers were very simple.