Etymograph

English

data

Data comes from Latin datum ‘that is given’, from dō ‘to give’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-1‘give’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dédeh₃ti1‘to be giving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*didō1‘to give’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdō1‘to give’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdatum1‘that is given’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdata1
  7. Englishtodaydata1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English data

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-Wiktionary, English data‘give’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dédeh₃tiWiktionary, English data‘to be giving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*didōWiktionary, English data‘to give’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdōWiktionary, English data‘to give’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdatumWiktionary, English data‘that is given’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdataWiktionary, English data
  7. EnglishtodaydataWiktionary, English data

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Another origin of data

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-‘give’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dédeh₃ti‘to be giving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*didō‘to give’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdō‘to give’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdatum‘that is given’neuter past participle of dō
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdatanominative plural of datum
  7. Englishtodaydata

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Today it means

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Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “data”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- / data