a particular month, day, and year at which some event happened or will happen: July 4, 1776 was the date of the signing of the declaration of independence.
2.
the day of the month: Is today's date the 7th or the 8th?
3.
an inscription on a writing, coin, etc., that shows the time, or time and place, of writing, casting, delivery, etc.: a letter bearing the date January 16.
4.
the time or period to which any event or thing belongs; period in general: at a late date.
5.
the time during which anything lasts; duration: The pity is that childhood has so short a date.
to have or bear a date: The letter dates from 1873.
12.
to belong to a particular period; have its origin: That dress dates from the 19th century. The architecture dates as far back as 1830.
13.
to reckon from some point in time: The custom dates from the days when women wore longer skirts.
14.
to go out socially on dates: She dated a lot during high school.
verb (used with object)
15.
to mark or furnish with a date: Please date the check as of today.
16.
to ascertain or fix the period or point in time of; assign a period or point in time to: The archaeologist dated the ruins as belonging to the early Minoan period.
17.
to show the age of; show to be old-fashioned.
18.
to make a date with; go out on dates with: He's been dating his best friend's sister.
Idioms
19.
to date, up to the present time; until now: This is his best book to date.
20.
up to date, in agreement with or inclusive of the latest information; modern: Bring us up to date on the news.
Origin: 1275–1325; (noun) Middle English < Middle French < Late Latin data, noun use of data (feminine of datus, past participle of dare to give), from the phrase data (Romae) written, given (at Rome); (v.) Middle English daten to sign or date a document, derivative of the noun
"fruit," late 13c., from O.Fr. date, from O.Prov. datil, from L. dactylus, from Gk. daktylos "date," orig. "finger, toe," because of fancied resemblance between oblong fruit of the date palm and human digits. Possibly from a Sem. source (cf. Heb. deqel, Aram. diqla, Arabic daqal "date palm") and assimilated