Automatic Data Collection

1748, first used by Eng. physician and philosopher David Hartley (1705-57) in ref. to involuntary animal or human actions, from Gk. automatos "self-acting," from autos- "self" (comb. form) + matos "thinking, animated." Sense of "self-acting, having power of motion" is from 1812; especially of machinery which simulates human action from 1940. As an abbreviation of automatic pistol or gun, it is attested from 1902; meaning "car with an automatic transmission" is from 1949. Automatic teller first attested 1971. Automation was coined 1948 by Ford Motor Co. Vice President Delmar S. Harder; automate is a 1952 back-formation.

–noun

1.	a pl. of datum.

2.	(used with a plural verb) individual facts, statistics, or items of information: These data represent the results of our analyses. Data are entered by terminal for immediate processing by the computer.

3.	(used with a singular verb) a body of facts; information: Additional data is available from the president of the firm.

–noun

1.	the act of collecting.

2.	something that is collected; a group of objects or an amount of material accumulated in one location, esp. for some purpose or as a result of some process: a stamp collection; a collection of unclaimed hats in the checkroom; a collection of books on Churchill.

3.	the works of art constituting the holdings of an art museum: a history of the museum and of the collection.

4.	the gathered or exhibited works of a single painter, sculptor, etc.: an excellent Picasso collection.

5.	collections, the various holdings of an art museum organized by category, as painting, sculpture, wor 92b ks on paper, photography, or film: the director of the collections.

6.	the clothes or other items produced by a designer, esp. for a seasonal line: the spring collection.

7.	a sum of money collected, esp. for charity or church use.

8.	Manège. act of bringing or coming into a collected attitude.