CG: n
CT: Given the sheer volume of data that businesses handle today, metadata is indispensable. It enhances data accessibility, making it easier to navigate large data sets and convert raw information into actionable insights. For example, a retail business can use metadata to quickly find sales data for a specific month, filtered by product category and region, without searching through all its data.
S: IBM – https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/metadata (last access: 28 January 2025)
N: 1. From word-forming element “meta-” (Greek origin meaning 1. “after, behind; among, between,” 2. “changed, altered,” 3. “higher, beyond;” from Greek meta (prep.) “in the midst of; in common with; by means of; between; in pursuit or quest of; after, next after, behind,” in compounds most often meaning “change” of place, condition, etc.), and noun “data” (1640s, “a fact given or granted,” classical plural of datum, from Latin datum “(thing) given,” neuter past participle of dare “to give” (from Proto-Indo-European root *do- “to give”; in classical use originally “a fact given as the basis for calculation in mathematical problems”; from 1897 as “numerical facts collected for future reference”).
- metadata (noun): Plural in form but singular or plural in construction. The first known use of metadata was in 1983.
Data that provides information about other data.
2. Information describing the characteristics of data including, for example, structural metadata describing data structures (e.g., data format, syntax, and semantics) and descriptive metadata describing data contents (e.g., information security labels).
3. Some of the most common kinds of metadata include:
- Descriptive metadata: provides basic information about data, such as file title, author, keywords and summary.
- Structural metadata: defines how data elements are organized and related to each other.
- Administrative metadata: provides information on data ownership, access permissions and retention policies.
- Technical metadata: describes a data file’s technical details, such as file type, encoding information and storage location.
- Preservation metadata: helps ensure the long-term usability and accessibility of data. It includes details about a data set’s last backup and strategies for preserving data, such as porting data to new formats as technology evolves to keep it from becoming obsolete.
4. Metadata is widely used across industries. Some real-life applications include search engine optimization, social media, consumer insights, or cybersecurity. Furthermore, metadata is helpful in training AI models.
5. Information Processing (Informatics); Information Technology (Informatics): metadata (plural).
- Metadata is data that defines and describes other data and is used to aid the identification, description, location, or use of information systems, resources, and elements.
S: 1. Etymonline – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=meta, https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=data (last access: 29 January 2025); MW – https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metadata (last access: 30 January 2025). 2. NIST – https://csrc.nist.gov/glossary/term/metadata (last access: 28 January 2025) 3 & 4. IBM – https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/metadata (last access: 28 January 2025). 5. TERMIUM PLUS – https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=1&srchtxt=METADATA&index=alt&codom2nd_wet=1#resultrecs (last access: 30 January 2025).
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