donnée

(dŏ-nāˈ, dô-)

1. A set of literary or artistic principles or assumptions on which a creative work is based: “He worked outward from the donnée toward the expression of some general theme or idea” (Hugh Honour).
2. A set of notions, facts, or conditions that governs and shapes an act or a way of life: “His heart, his mind, his body, composed the donnée of his life” (Louis Auchincloss).