A basic fact or assumption from which something is built; a given premise or starting point for a work of art, literature, or argument.
From French 'donnée,' meaning 'given thing,' derived from Latin 'data' (past participle of 'dare,' to give). This is a literary and philosophical term that entered English to describe the foundational elements of creative works.
Writers and critics use 'donnee' to describe the basic setup of a story—for example, in 'what if a man woke up as a giant insect?' the donnee is that impossible transformation, and everything else flows from that one given fact.
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