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"Informative" is the adjective form of "information". What's the adjective form of "data"/"datum"?

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What about "dataful"? – Problemania Jun 29 '12 at 22:52

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In Latin, datum is already an adjective of sorts, in so far as it is a form of the verb do (to give) and means 'that which is given'. If you had to make an adjective of it in English, you would have to use given, as in 'a given fact'.

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You mean 'a given fact' means 'a fact that is data-generating' or 'a fact consists of data.'? In Latin, 'datum' is the a inflective form of the verb 'do'? Etymologically, this might make sense, but does informative:information<>given:data really look like a good analogy for modern English? – Problemania Oct 21 '12 at 0:12
Given facts, data, are those on which an argument is based and which, rather like axioms, require no further investigation for the purpose of any current discussion. Yes, datum is the nominative and accusative neuter singular of the past participle of the Latin verb do, meaning 'give'. In that form, some Latin grammars describe it as the supine. – Barrie England Oct 21 '12 at 6:27
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How about statistical?

I realize it's not the same root word, but my dictionary1 shows a credible thread:

statistical (adjective): of or relating to the use of statistics

statistics (plural noun): the practice or science of collecting and analyzing numerical data in large quantities, esp. for the purpose of inferring proportions in a whole from those in a representative sample.

statistic (noun): a fact or piece of data from a study of a large quantity of numerical data

So long as the data is numerical or quantitative, at least, that word seems to work (although it might be more of a stretch if applied to, say, demographical data.)

1(Definitions from NOAD; emphasis added.)

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Data by itself doesn't immediately imply statistical. Statistical is a particular way of looking at data pertaining to seeking patterns, or various macroscopic qualitative or quantitative features. So I don't really think statistical plays the exactly accurate role in analogy informative:information<>statistical:data. – Problemania Oct 21 '12 at 0:19
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I would probably use data-generating if I had to.

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Comparing to the above two suggestions, I like data-generating more. But I wonder if there is a better verb than "generating". I.e. it's not necessarily "generating" that I want to emphasize. – Problemania Oct 21 '12 at 0:20

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