metadata

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The Word of the Day for February 6 is: 

metadata   \met-uh-DAY-tuh\   noun
     : data that provides information about other data 

Example sentence:
     The word processing program also tracks and saves metadata such as the 
author of the document and how many copies have been printed.

Did you know?
     It's easy to find data on the source of "metadata": the word was formed by 
combining "data" with "meta-," which means "transcending" and is often used to 
describe a new but related discipline designed to deal critically with the 
original one. "Meta-" was first used in that way in "metaphysics" and has been 
extended to a number of other disciplines, giving us such words as 
"metapsychology" and "metamathematics." "Metadata" takes the "transcending" 
aspect a step further, applying it to the concept of pure information instead 
of a discipline. "Metadata" is a fairly new word (it first appeared in print in 
1983), whereas "data" can be traced back to the middle of the 17th century.






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