Geodata

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Information linked to geographic locations, including coordinates, maps, and spatial attributes used in analysis ; Data describing physical positions on Earth's surface and related environmental or demographic features ; Details concerning geographic positions and spatial relationships applied in mapping and location-based services
2. Facts and statistics connected to specific places, encompassing coordinates and location-based characteristics ; Information about physical locations on the planet combined with environmental or social variables ; Data sets containing geographic coordinates and spatial information utilized in cartography and spatial analysis
3. Data representing geographic positions within a spatial framework, often used for mapping and navigation ; Details identifying locations by latitude, longitude, or place names along with contextual geographic information ; Information integrating spatial coordinates and descriptive aspects for use in geographic information systems and analysis

Etymology: "Geodata" is a plain compound: "geo-," from Greek "gē" meaning "earth," joined to "data," the plural of Latin "datum," meaning "something given." Put together, the word literally means information about the earth, though in practice it refers to information tied to particular places rather than to the planet as a whole. The word's meaning has narrowed over time into a technical sense. Its core is a location, expressed as coordinates, and anything measured or recorded about that location, such as rainfall, population, land use or soil type. Because these facts are stored together, they can be mapped, which is why the term is closely associated with cartography and geographic information systems.

Synonyms: geographic data, spatial data, GIS data, location data, map data