Date: The same Latin formula that gave us… | etymologist.ai
date
/deɪt/·noun / verb·c. 1300·Established
Origin
'Date' is Latin for 'given' — from theformula 'data epistula' (letter given on such a day).
Definition
The day of the month or year as specified by a number; a social or romantic appointment. As a verb, to establish the date of something; to go on a date with someone.
The Full Story
Latin14th centurywell-attested
From OldFrench 'date' (date, day), from Medieval Latin 'data' (given), originally from the epistolary formula 'data (epistula) Romae' — '(letter) given at Rome on such-and-such a day.' 'Data' is the feminine singular past participle of Latin 'dare' (to give), from PIE *deh₃- (to give). The word for the day was thus extracted from the formula that recorded
as a scientific term in the 1640s. Other descendants include 'donation' (from Latin 'donare'), 'dose' (from Greek 'dósis,' a giving), 'anecdote' (literally 'not given out,' i.e. unpublished), and 'endow.' The romantic sense of 'date' (a social appointment) appeared in 1885 in American English slang.' Key roots: dare (Latin: "to give"), data (Latin: "given (feminine past participle)"), *deh₃- (Proto-Indo-European: "to give").