'Data' - singular or plural

We work with data all the time but we're never sure whether to use singular or plural when discussing the topic. Whichever way we jump we are sure to upset somebody. If we treat 'data' as a plural noun and say 'the data are stored' then that makes us sound old-fashioned to young developers. The alternative is to assume it's a singular noun and say 'the data is retrieved'; but that makes us sound slapdash to senior staff.

Whatever we do would be wrong so we tend to hide our personal views and avoid the ambiguity of the bare word 'data' altogether. Instead we use a term that is obviously singular or obviously plural and say 'the data files are stored' or 'a data item is retrieved'. Privately we treat 'data' as a singular and but over Christmas I came across a line of argument which might give us the confidence to come clean in public.

The Latin inheritance

The problem of course comes from the Latin 'datum' - a known fact. The plural is 'data' and this is the word that programmers have adopted to describe a collection of known facts. We English seem to be happier to treat this plural noun as though it were singular and this is what upsets the pedants.

We've now found two other words to upset the pedants. 'Stamina' is one. It's the plural of 'stamen' - a thread or sinew - but 'agenda' is the killer. If anyone complains about our saying 'the data is' I shall remind them that 'agenda' is the plural form meaning 'items to be discussed' and inform the complainant that they must treat it properly as a plural. They can't say 'an agenda' but must say 'a few agenda' or even 'some agenda' and they can't put something 'on' the agenda but must put it 'in' or 'amongst' the agenda.