transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈdā-tə, ˈda- also ]
ˈdä- noun plural but singular or plural in construction
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Latin, plural of datum
Date: 1646
1. : factual information (as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation
the data is plentiful and easily available — H. A. Gleason, Jr.
comprehensive data on economic growth have been published — N. H. Jacoby
2. : information output by a sensing device or organ that includes both useful and irrelevant or redundant information and must be processed to be meaningful
3. : information in numerical form that can be digitally transmitted or processed
Usage:
Data leads a life of its own quite independent of datum, of which it was originally the plural. It occurs in two constructions: as a plural noun (like earnings ), taking a plural verb and plural modifiers (as these, many, a few ) but not cardinal numbers, and serving as a referent for plural pronouns (as they, them ); and as an abstract mass noun (like information ), taking a singular verb and singular modifiers (as this, much, little ), and being referred to by a singular pronoun ( it ). Both constructions are standard. The plural construction is more common in print, evidently because the house style of several publishers mandates it.