informacija

Informacija is a term used in several European languages to denote information—the content that is communicated, stored, or processed to reduce uncertainty. It can refer to facts about a subject, data that can be analyzed, or knowledge conveyed through speech, writing, or media. In everyday language, informacija often equals information, while in more technical contexts it may distinguish content from raw data.

Etymology and cognates: The word derives from Latin informatio (formation), from informare “to form” or “to shape.” It spread into many languages, producing cognates such as informacja (Polish), információ (Hungarian), informācija (Latvian), and informacija (Lithuanian). Variants exist across the region, but the core sense remains forming or conveying knowledge.

Usage and scope: The term is used across journalism, education, government, and computing. In information technology, informacija can denote the content that software processes, stores, or transmits. In information theory, information is quantified as the reduction of uncertainty, a scientific concept that has shaped how languages discuss information in technical fields. Distinctions between “information” and “data” vary by language and context, with some uses aligning informacija with data items and others with meaningful content.