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datum - 3 dictionary results
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da⋅tum

  [dey-tuhm, dat-uhm, dah-tuhm]
Use datum in a Sentence
–noun, plural da⋅ta  [dey-tuh, dat-uh, dah-tuh] for 1–3, da⋅tums for 4, 5.
1. a single piece of information, as a fact, statistic, or code; an item of data.
2. Philosophy.
a. any fact assumed to be a matter of direct observation.
b. any proposition assumed or given, from which conclusions may be drawn.
3. Also called sense datum. Epistemology. the object of knowledge as presented to the mind. Compare ideatum.
4. Surveying, Civil Engineering. any level surface, line, or point used as a reference in measuring elevations.
5. Surveying. a basis for horizontal control surveys, consisting of the longitude and latitude of a certain point, the azimuth of a certain line from this point, and two constants used in defining the terrestrial spheroid.
Origin:
1640–50; < L: a thing given, neut. ptp. of dare to give

Usage note:
See data.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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da·tum   (dā'təm, dāt'əm, dä'təm)   
n.  
  1. pl. da·ta (-tə) A fact or proposition used to draw a conclusion or make a decision. See Usage Note at data.
  2. pl. da·tums A point, line, or surface used as a reference, as in surveying, mapping, or geology.

[Latin, something given, from neuter past participle of dare, to give; see dō- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Datum

Da"tum\, n.; pl. Data. [L. See 2d Date.]

1. Something given or admitted; a fact or principle granted; that upon which an inference or an argument is based; -- used chiefly in the plural.

Any writer, therefore, who . . . furnishes us with data sufficient to determine the time in which he wrote. --Priestley.

2. pl. (Math.) The quantities or relations which are assumed to be given in any problem.

Datum line (Surv.), the horizontal or base line, from which the heights of points are reckoned or measured, as in the plan of a railway, etc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : datum
Spanish: fecha,
German: das Datum,
Japanese: 年月日
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