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Data are tradtionally plural! To be horrendously pedantic, from the Oxford English Dictionary: > Data > ... > 2. As a mass noun. > a. Related items of
by azalemeth 5y ago
Data are tradtionally plural!
To be horrendously pedantic, from the Oxford English Dictionary:
> Data
> ...
> 2. As a mass noun.
> a. Related items of (chiefly numerical) information considered collectively, typically obtained by scientific work and used for reference, analysis, or calculation. Cf. datum (n. 1a.)
[1] https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/296948?rskey=IhOFGI&result=1&isAdvanced=true https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/296948?rskey=IhOFGI&result=1&...
- wlesieutre 5y agoThat sent me to a login page, but use of “data” as a singular mass noun like “information” is pretty universally accepted. Some discussion on Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_(word) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_(word) Their citation of “Data is most often used as a singular mass noun in everyday usage” points to New Oxford Dictionary of English, 1999, so it’s not super recent shift.
- meepmorp 5y agoYou're being horribly pedantic by undermining your own point? The definition you quote indicates that data has become a mass noun, i.e., non-countable. The reference to the word datum is to contrast this with part of the previous definition.