Copyright © 2013 Oxford University Press

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the self-described “definitive record of the English language,” recently added “big data” to its ranks, defining the term as, “data of a very large size, typically to the extent that its manipulation and management present significant logistical challenges.”  The OED,  first published in 1884, currently contains over 600,000 entries, with new additions and modifications made on a quarterly basis. While Wikipedia has contained an entry for big data since April 2010, the standard and timeline for inclusion in the OED is historically more rigorous. This month, OED editors deemed that “big data” has reached sufficient ubiquity to have met this standard. Indeed, a google search for “big data” immediately returns 27.2 million entries, confirming what we at Praescient already know: big data is here to stay. As previous posts on this blog have highlighted, we believe that when big data is paired with skilled human analysts using cutting-edge analytic tools, the “logistical challenges” to which OED refers can be overcome, and the promise of big data can be realized.