Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “date” come from?

Date comes from Middle English date, from Old French date, from Latin dactylus, from Ancient Greek δάκτυλος, ultimately from Latin dare and do.

date (English): The fruit of the date palm, "Phoenix...

Definitions

  1. The fruit of the date palm, "Phoenix...

Ancestry of “date”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishdate—
2Old Frenchdatedate
3Latindatanominative feminine singular of datus; nominative...
4Latindatumgift, present; accusative supine of dō;...
5Latindatusgiven; offered; yielded
6Latindāre—
7Proto-Italicdidōgive
8Proto-Indo-Europeandédeh₃tito be giving
9Proto-Indo-Europeandeh₃-to give

Words derived from “date”

  • update
  • predate
  • datetime
  • antedate
  • birthdate
  • dateline
  • updatable
  • postdate
  • airdate
  • playdate
  • dateable
  • dater
  • datestamp
  • updater
  • updateable
  • datebook
  • backdate
  • outdate
  • misdate
  • multidate
  • datestone
  • redate
  • overdate
  • nondate
Every word from Proto-Indo-European deh₃- →