Where does “date” come from?
date (Middle English) comes from Old French date, from Latin data, from Latin datum, from Latin datus, from Latin dāre, from Proto-Italic didō, from Proto-Indo-European dédeh₃ti, from Proto-Indo-European deh₃- — to give.
Ancestry of “date”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | date | date point in time |
| 2 | Latin | data | nominative feminine singular of datus; nominative... |
| 3 | Latin | datum | gift, present; accusative supine of dō;... |
| 4 | Latin | datus | given; offered; yielded |
| 5 | Latin | dāre | — |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | didō | give |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | dédeh₃ti | to be giving |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | deh₃- | to give |