In metadata, the term data element is an atomic unit of data that has precise meaning or precise semantics.
A data element has: Data elements usage can be discovered by inspection of software applications or application data files through a process of manual or automated Application Discovery and Understanding.
Once data elements are discovered they can be registered in a metadata registry.
[1] In practice, data elements (fields, columns, attributes, etc.)
While a known bad practice, overloading is nevertheless a very real factor or barrier to understanding what a system is doing.