Date

Pronunciation

• IPA: /deɪt/
• Rhymes: -eɪt

From French datte, from Latin dactylus, from Ancient Greek δάκτυλος (daktulos, "finger") (from the resemblance of the date to a human finger), probably from a Semitic source such as Arabic دقل (dáqal, "variety of date palm") or Hebrew דֶּקֶל (deqel, "date palm").

Full definition of date

Noun

1. The fruit of the date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, somewhat in the shape of an olive, containing a soft, sweet pulp and enclosing a hard kernel.We made a nice cake from dates.
2. The date palm.There were a few dates planted around the house.

Derived terms

From Old French date, Late Latin data, from Latin datus ("given"), past participle of dare ("to give"); akin to Greek, Old Slavonic dati, Sanskrit dā. Compare datum, dose, Dato, and Die.

Noun

1. That addition to a writing, inscription, coin, etc., which specifies the time (as day, month, and year) when the writing or inscription was given, or executed, or made.the date of a letter, of a will, of a deed, of a coin, etc.US date : 05/24/08 = Tuesday, May 24th, 2008. UK date : 24/05/08 = Tuesday 24th May 2008.
• 1681, John Dryden, The Spanish FriarAnd bonds without a date, they say, are void.
2. The point of time at which a transaction or event takes place, or is appointed to take place; a given point of time; epoch; as, the date of a battle. A specific day.the date for pleading
• 1844, Mark Akenside, The Pleasures of the Imagination, Book IIHe at once, Down the long series of eventful time, So fix'd the dates of being, so disposed To every living soul of every kind The field of motion, and the hour of rest.
3. Do you know the date of the wedding?We had to change the dates of the festival because of the flooding.
4. A point in timeYou may need that at a later date.
5. (rare) Assigned end; conclusion.
• unknown date Alexander Pope,What Time would spare, from Steel receives its date.
6. (obsolete) Given or assigned length of life; duration.
• unknown date Edmund Spenser,Good luck prolonged hath thy date.
• unknown date George Chapman (translator), Homer (author), The Odysseys of Homer, Volume 1, Book IV, lines 282–5,As now Saturnius, through his life's whole date,Hath Nestor's bliss raised to as steep a state,Both in his age to keep in peace his house,And to have children wise and valorous.
7. A pre-arranged social meeting.I arranged a date with my Australian business partners.
8. A companion when one is partaking in a social occasion.I brought Melinda to the wedding as my date.
9. A meeting with a lover or potential lover, or the person so met.We really hit it off on the first date, so we decided to meet the week after.We slept together on the first date.The cinema is a popular place to take someone on a date.

Derived terms

Descendants

• German:

Verb

1. (transitive) To note the time of writing or executing; to express in an instrument the time of its execution.
• unknown date Joseph AddisonYou will be surprised, I don't question, to find among your correspondencies in foreign parts, a letter dated from Blois.
• 1801 January, William Cobbett, A New Year's Gift, Porcupine's works, footnote, page 430,I keep to the very words of the letter; but that, by "this State," is meant the State of Pennsylvania, cannot be doubted, especially when we see that the letter is dated at Philadelphia.
• 1913 1863, Marcus Aurelius, George Long (translator), Matthew Arnold (essay), The Thoughts of the Emperor M. Aurelius Antoninus, G. Bell and Sons, page 227,In these countries much of his Journal seems to have been written; parts of it are dated from them; and there, a few weeks before his fifty-ninth birthday, he fell sick and died.
2. to date a letter, a bond, a deed, or a charter
3. (transitive) To note or fix the time of, as of an event; to give the date of.
4. (transitive) To determine the age of something.
   to date the building of the pyramids
5. (transitive) To take (someone) on a series of dates.
6. (transitive) To have a steady relationship with, to be romantically involved with.
• 2008 May 15, NEWS.com.au, "Jessica Simpson upset John Mayer dating Jennifer Aniston":Jessica Simpson reportedly went on a drinking binge after discovering ex-boyfriend John Mayer is dating Jennifer Aniston.
7. (intransitive) Of a couple, to be in a romantic relationship.
8. (intransitive) To become old, especially in such a way as to fall out of fashion, become less appealing or attractive, etc.
   This show hasn't dated well.
9. (intransitive, with from) To have beginning; to begin; to be dated or reckoned.
• unknown date Edward EverettThe Batavian republic dates from the successes of the French arms.
• 1963, Margery Allingham, The China Governess Chapter Foreword, He stood transfixed before the unaccustomed view of London at night time, a vast panorama which reminded him ... of some wood engravings far off and magical, in a printshop in his childhood. They dated from the previous century and were coarsely printed on tinted paper, with tinsel outlining the design.
• 2013-06-08, The new masters and commanders, From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.

Usage notes

To note the time of writing one may say dated at or from a place.

Anagrams

• AEDT, EDTA, TAED