anecdata

English

WOTD – 29 November 2017

Etymology

Blend of anecdotal +‎ data; also compare this to the plural of anecdote is not data, upon which this term likely plays.

Equally, analysable as a blend of anecdote +‎ data.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈænɪkdeɪtə/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈænikdætə/, /-ɾə/
• Hyphenation: an‧ec‧da‧ta

Noun

anecdata pl (normally plural, singular anecdatum)

1. (usually humorous or derogatory) Anecdotal evidence. [from 1980s]
   • 1992 March 6, “Guessing Game [show #4285]”, in The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, Paul Solman (actor):

     A handful of stores, just one mall, not what you'd call a statistically significant sample. In fact, the most recent government report was that retail sales rose in January, which just goes to show why the journalist's approach to reality, what you might call "anecdata," may be the flimsiest form of forecasting.

   • 1997 October 2, Chris Doherty, “Re: Take Back the Night 1997”, in uw.general‎^[1] (Usenet), message-ID <[email protected]>:

     Anecodotal evidence strongly suggests that this is just the high profile expression of a much larger problem of misogynistic violence. / Ah, yes. Anecdata. Fortunately, real honest studies which are peer-reviewed and critiqued suggest otherwise.

   • 2003, Justin Hughes, “Legal Pressures in Intellectual Property Law”, in Julie M. Esanu, Paul F. Uhlir, editors, The Role of Scientific and Technical Data in the Public Domain: Proceedings of a Symposium, Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, →ISBN, page 97:

     That is one of those stories that I call “anecdata”—these horror stories over which we try to construct theories about how something is or is not working in IP law and policy.

   • 2005 July 18, Lindsay Endell, “Re: Roy Meadow”, in uk.misc‎^[2] (Usenet), message-ID <[email protected]>:

     I have read interviews with people (yeah, I know, anecdata) who have said that they wanted an apology for a mistake being made and ended up going to court over it. And invariably winning.

   • 2017, Kory Stamper, Word By Word, Vintage, published 2018, →ISBN, page 213:

     Metcalfe notes the same general pattern, though he gives no anecdata to support his contention.

Usage notes

• The word can be used as either a mass noun or a plural noun.

Translations

anecdotal evidence

• Galician: ^{(please verify)} anécdota f
• Spanish: evidencia anecdotal f

See also

• the plural of anecdote is not data
• guesstimate

References

• “anecdata, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022.

Further reading

• anecdotal evidence on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “anecdata”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.