date

Etymology 1

table From Middle English date, from Old French date, datil, datille, from Latin dactylus, from Ancient Greek δάκτυλος (dáktulos, “finger”) (from the resemblance of the date to a human finger), probably a folk-etymological alteration of a word from a Semitic source such as Arabic دَقَل (daqal, “variety of date palm”) or Hebrew דֶּקֶל (deqel, “date palm”).

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.

Etymology 2

From Middle English date, from Old French date, from Late Latin data, from Latin datus (“given”), past participle of dare (“to give”); from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- (“to give”). Doublet of data.

noun

1. The addition to a writing, inscription, coin, etc., which specifies the time (especially the day, month, and year) when the writing or inscription was given, 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.
2. A specific day in time at which a transaction or event takes place, or is appointed to take place; a given point of time.
   the date for pleading
   The start date for the festival is September 2.
   He 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. 1844, Mark Akenside, The Pleasures of the Imagination, Book II
   Do you know the date of the wedding?
   We had to change the dates of the festival because of the flooding.
3. A point in time.
   You may need that at a later date.
4. (rare) Assigned end; conclusion.
   But because he is but briefe, and these things of great consequence not to be kept obscure, I shall conceave it nothing above my duty either for the difficulty or the censure that may passe thereon, to communicate such thoughts as I also have had, and do offer them now in this generall labour of reformation, to the candid view both of Church and Magistrate; especially because I see it the hope of good men, that those irregular and unspirituall Courts have spun their utmost date in this Land; and some beter course must now be constituted. 1643, John Milton, Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce
5. (obsolete) Given or assigned length of life; duration.
   1611-15, 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.
6. A pre-arranged meeting.
   I arranged a date with my Australian business partners.
   "Why, Mr. Nisbet! I thought you were in New York." "I had a telegram this morning, calling the date off," 1903, Guy Wetmore Carryl, The Lieutenant-Governor, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, page 121
7. One's companion for social activities or occasions.
   I brought Melinda to the wedding as my date.
8. A romantic meeting or outing 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.
   The cinema is a popular place to take someone on a date.

verb

1. (transitive) To note the time or place of writing or executing; to express in an instrument the time of its execution.
   to date a letter, a bond, a deed, or a charter
   You will be surprised, I don't question, to find among your correspondencies in foreign parts, a letter dated from Blois. 1699, Joseph Addison, Letter to Rt. Hon. Charles Montagu, Esq., Blois, France; republished in Lucy Aikin, chapter 3, in The Life of Joseph Addison, volume 1, Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1843, page 79
   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. 1796-01-01, William Cobbett, A New Year's Gift to the Democrats, footnote; republished in Porcupine's Works, volume 2, London: For Cobbett and Morgan, 1801, page 430
   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. 1865, Matthew Arnold, “Marcus Aurelius”, in Essays in Criticism: First Series; republished as “An Essay on Marcus Aurelius”, in The Thoughts of the Emperor M. Aurelius Antoninus, London: G. Bell and Sons, published 1913, 1862, page 227
2. (transitive) To note or fix the time of (an event); to give the date of.
3. (transitive) To determine the age of something.
   to date the building of the pyramids
4. (transitive) To take (someone) on a date, or a series of dates.
5. (transitive, by extension) To have a steady relationship with; to be romantically involved with.
   Jessica Simpson reportedly went on a drinking binge after discovering ex-boyfriend John Mayer is dating Jennifer Aniston. 2008-05-15, “Jessica Simpson upset John Mayer dating Jennifer Aniston”, in NEWS.com.au
6. (reciprocal, by extension) To have a steady relationship with each other; to be romantically involved with each other.
   They met a couple of years ago, but have been dating for about five months.
7. (transitive, intransitive) To make or 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.
   The comedian dated himself by making quips about bands from the 1960s.
   In these days of decimalization and metrication it is a pity that SI units were not used as this will date a very useful little book prematurely. 1971-04-30, “Research by Experiment”, in Nature, volume 230, number 5296, →DOI, page 603
8. (intransitive, with from) To have beginning; to begin; to be dated or reckoned.
   The Batavian republic dates from the successes of the French arms. 1826, Edward Everett, The Claims of Citizens of the United States of America on the Governments of Naples, Holland, and France
   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. 1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess
   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. 2013-06-08, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52