Granularity

/ˌɡræn.jə.ˈlær.ə.ti/ noun

Definition

The quality or degree of being granular; the size of the individual particles or grains in a material.

Etymology

From 'granular' + the abstract noun suffix '-ity.' The term became widely used in computer science and data analysis from the mid-20th century onward to describe the level of detail in information systems.

Kelly Says

Computer scientists borrowed 'granularity' from geology to describe how fine-grained they can make data or control—a programmer might debate whether they need 'minute-level granularity' versus 'hour-level granularity' in their logging system, just like geologists discuss sand versus silt.

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