Datum

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈdeɪtÊŒm/, /ˈdɑːtÊŒm/

Origin

From Latin datum.

Full definition of datum

Noun

1. (plural: data) A measurement of something on a scale understood by both the recorder (a person or device) and the reader (another person or device). The scale is arbitrarily defined, such as from 1 to 10 by ones, 1 to 100 by 0.1, or simply true or false, on or off, yes, no, or maybe, etc.
2. (plural: data) (philosophy) A fact known from direct observation.
3. (plural: data) (philosophy) A premise from which conclusions are drawn.
4. (plural: datums) (cartography, engineering) A fixed reference point.
• 2007, Roger F Tomlinson, Thinking about GIS: geographic information system planning for managersDatums are another important map aspect related to projection. A datum provides a base reference for measuring locations on Earth's surface.

Derived terms

• datum circle
• datum line
• datum plane
• datum point
• datum surface

Related terms

• data, information
• die, dice