![]() ![]() First, "data" started to become an everyday term, which people viewed as synonymous with "information." Second, the drop-off of Latin from the school curriculum meant that the "plural protection shield" around "data" started to thin. However, two things happened that started the transition of "data" into a singular word. In the early 1900s, "data" was considered a plural word, and treating it as singular was viewed as uneducated. It could easily be rewritten as "a collection of details, facts, and statistics for reference or analysis," which would make it singular. The first definition is a plural phrase, but the second is a singular phrase. (2) Information electrically stored in, operated on, or transmitted by computers.(1) Details, facts, and statistics collected for reference or analysis.Here are two definitions for the word "data": Nowadays, its meaning is more aligned to "information" or "a collection of datums," both of which are singular terms.įor many people, treating "data" as plural is starting to sound pretentious. It no longer means "lots of datums" (NB: "datums" is now an accepted plural of "datum"). The only question is whether "data" has completed its journey yet. "Data" is following the same paths as "agenda" (a former plural of "agendum") and "media" (a former plural of "medium"). We all know that "data" is the Latin plural of "datum," but that is not a strong argument for treating "data" as plural. It's the Latin Plural of Datum! Yeah, So What? This graph is derived only from published works.) (This image from Google's Ngram Viewer shows that "data" is treated as both singular and plural. So, if you naturally treat "data" as singular, stick with it because the argument for treating "data" as singular is beating the one for retaining it as a plural. ![]() ![]() "Data" is best described as being in transition from a plural word to a singular one. Of note, "data" is treated as plural in scientific and academic writing, but this is changing. "Data" should be treated as singular for a general audience. Search our site by Craig Shrives Should I write "data is" or "data are"? ![]()
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