date

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈdāt 

1

: the brown, oblong edible fruit of a palm (Phoenix dactylifera)

cookies with raisins and chopped dates

2

: the tall palm with pinnate leaves that yields the date

date

2 of 3

noun (2)

1

a

: the time at which an event occurs

the date of his birth

on this date in history

see also date of birth

b

: a statement of the time of execution (see execution sense 1) or making

the date on the letter

2

: duration

the short date of all things sweet

—Rebecca P. Parkin

3

: the period of time to which something belongs

a style from a later date

4

a

: an appointment to meet at a specified time

set up a date with her lawyer

especially : a social engagement (see engagement sense 1a) between two persons that often has a romantic character

asked her out on a date

see also blind date sense 1

b

: a person with whom one has a usually romantic date

bringing a date to the dance

see also blind date sense 2

5

: an engagement for a professional performance (as of a dance band)

concert dates

date

3 of 3

verb

dated; dating

transitive verb

1

: to determine the period of time to which something belongs : to determine the date (see date entry 2 sense 3) of

date an antique

dated the fossils to the Triassic period

2

: to record the time of the execution or making of : mark with the date

forgot to date the check

a letter dated the fifth of September

3

a

: to mark with characteristics typical of a particular period

b

: to show up plainly the age of

old-fashioned decor that really dates the house

4

: to make a usually romantic social arrangement to meet with : to have a date with

someone she dated in high school

intransitive verb

1

: to estimate or compute a date (see date entry 2 sense 3) or chronology : to reckon chronologically

scientific dating techniques

2

: originate

a friendship dating from college days

jewelry dating back to the 1700s

3

: to become outmoded or dated

4

: to go out on usually romantic dates

wasn't allowed to date until she was sixteen

datable adjective

or less commonly dateable

ˈdā-tə-bəl 

dater

ˈdā-tər 

noun

Phrases

to date

: up to the present moment

her best album to date

Did you know?

The word date that means “the fruit of the palm” and the word date that means “the time of an event” look alike, but they are not related. The word for the fruit can be traced back to the Greek word daktylos, meaning “finger” and “toe.” No one knows why the fruit was called by the word for finger—perhaps because of its small size and shape or the long, slender shape of the palm’s leaves. The word for “the time of an event” comes from Latin and derives from the Latin phrase data Romae, meaning “given at Rome,” an expression used before the date on letters and documents. The word data comes from the Latin word dare, “to give.” In later Latin, the word data came to be used alone to stand for the date, and it came into English as date.

Synonyms

Noun (2)

• appointment
• assignation
• engagement
• rendezvous
• tryst

Verb

• go out (with)
• take out

Examples of date in a Sentence

Noun (2)

I have a date to meet my financial consultant at seven o'clock

the embarrassingly short date of most of his romances

Verb

She dated a couple guys during college.

He only dates younger women.

They've been dating for six months.

Don't forget to sign and date the application.

The letter was not dated.

a memo dated July 12th, 2003

Historians date the document to the early 1700s.

The ancient building was dated by a coin found in one of the rooms.

Scientists use various techniques to date fossils.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The first court date for Rise participants was June 2, 2023, Grimes said. —Campbell Roper, arkansasonline.com, 25 Dec. 2024

Below, see all of the Princess of Wales’s Christmas Day outfits to date. —Emily Chan, Vogue, 25 Dec. 2024

Verb

This and that The Hurricanes have lost 12 of their past 14 bowl game appearances dating to the 2005 season. —Jordan McPherson, Orlando Sentinel, 27 Dec. 2024

What could be more low stakes than tan, Orange County teens dating, shopping, and gossiping in the fat years before the subprime-mortgage crisis? —Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 27 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French (also continental Old French), borrowed (with -il perhaps taken as a suffix) from Old Occitan datil, going back to Latin dactylus "dactyl in verse, kind of date" — more at dactyl

Noun (2) and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin data, from data (as in data Romae given at Rome), feminine of Latin datus, past participle of dare to give; akin to Latin dos gift, dowry, Greek didonai to give

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing date

• at a later/future date
• birth date
• blind date
• date back
• date back to
• date from
• date line
• date of birth
• date rape
• date rape drug
• dinner date
• double date
• drop-dead date
• due date
• effective date
• expiration date
• expiry date
• heavy date
• international date line
• out-of-date
• rain date
• sell-by date
• set a date
• street date
• target date
• the international date line
• to date
• up-to-date

Kids Definition

date

1 of 3 noun

ˈdāt 

1

: the oblong edible fruit of a tall Old World palm

2

: the palm that produces dates

called also date palm

date

2 of 3 noun

1

a

: the time at which an event occurs

b

: a statement giving the time of doing or making (as of a coin or check)

2

: duration

3

: the period of time to which something belongs

4

a

: appointment sense 3

especially : a social engagement between two persons that often has a romantic character

b

: a person with whom one has a social engagement

date

3 of 3 verb

dated; dating

1

: to record the date of or on

date a letter

2

: to show or find out the date, age, or period of

date an antique

3

: to make or have a date with

4

a

: to come into existence : originate

dates from the 1400s

b

: to go as far back

dating back to childhood

5

: to show plainly the age of

decor that really dates the house

datable adjective

also dateable

ˈdāt-ə-bəl 

dater noun

Etymology

Noun

Middle English date "fruit of the palm," from early French date (same meaning), derived from Latin dactylus "date," from Greek daktylos "date," literally, "finger"

Noun

Middle English date "time of an event," from early French date (same meaning), derived from Latin data (Romae) "given (at Rome)," a phrase used in putting the date on documents, derived from dare "to give" see Word History at ¹date

Word Origin

The word date that means "the fruit of the palm" and the word date that means "the time of an event" look alike, but they are not related. The word for the fruit can be traced back to the Greek word daktylos, originally meaning "finger" and "toe." No one knows just how the fruit came to be called by the word for finger. It may be because of its size and shape or because of the slender shape of the palm leaves. Or it may be that daktylos was the closest Greek word to the word for the fruit borrowed from another language. The word for "the time of an event" comes from Latin, but the Latin word did not mean either "day" or "time." Date derives from the Latin phrase data Romae, meaning "given at Rome," an expression used before the date on letters and documents. The word data is from the Latin word dare "to give." In later Latin, the word data came to be used alone to stand for the date, and it came into English as date.