Difference between revisions of "Date (homographs)"
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The word '''date''' has several different meanings. As a [[noun]], it can mean | The word '''date''' has several different meanings. As a [[noun]], it can mean | ||
*the fruit of the date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', common in the Middle East and valued for its sweetness | *the fruit of the date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', common in the Middle East and valued for its sweetness | ||
| − | + | *a precise name for a particular moment of time, such as '''Saturday 26th March, 2022'''. In the context of historical studies, a date consisting only of the year, such as 'Elizabeth died in '''1603'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>, is often enough; in archaeological studies, a [[decade]] or a [[century]], and in geological studies a [[millennium]] - or even a pair of dates covering a range, e.g. , is often acceptably precise, for instance "By convention, the Iron Age in the Ancient Near East is taken to last '''from c. 1200 BC (the Bronze Age collapse) to c. 550 BC (or 539 BC)''' ([[wikipedia]], 2022). | |
| − | + | ::[[Etymological]] note: This meaning is derived from the [[Latin]] ''datum'' (or ''data'' or ''dato'') 'given [at]' used to mark the place and time at which a letter was written. | |
| + | *The [[verb]] '[to] '''date'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> has several areas of meaning. | ||
| + | **To date a letter or other document is to note the date on which it was composed or written. | ||
| + | **Academically, 'to date' [an item] is to assign it to a period. An archaeologist, for example, may date a fragment of pottery ro the thirteenth century CE, or, in Egypt, another sherd to the thirteenth century BCE; a geologist might date the beginning of the rise of a mountain range to the Upper Cretaceous period (c. 70 million years ago); an historian of art might date a drawing to a particular phase of the artist's development; and so on. | ||
| + | **In a more colloquial context, 'to '''date'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> a person is to [make an arrangement to] meet that person, usually for purposes of courtship or [sexual] partnership. That it is not always sexual in nature nmay be shown by its use in other contexts; for example, young children may be taken by their parents to a '''play date''', a social occasion when the play with contemporaries, and a '''dinner date''', which ''[[OED]]'' defines as "an arrangement to dine with someone". adding "(now esp[ecially] someone in whom one has a romantic interest), typically in a restaurant". | ||
[[Category:disambig]] | [[Category:disambig]] | ||
| + | [[Category:clarification of meanings]] | ||
| + | [[Category:etymology]] | ||
Latest revision as of 18:41, 8 April 2022
The word date has several different meanings. As a noun, it can mean
- the fruit of the date palm Phoenix dactylifera, common in the Middle East and valued for its sweetness
- a precise name for a particular moment of time, such as Saturday 26th March, 2022. In the context of historical studies, a date consisting only of the year, such as 'Elizabeth died in 1603', is often enough; in archaeological studies, a decade or a century, and in geological studies a millennium - or even a pair of dates covering a range, e.g. , is often acceptably precise, for instance "By convention, the Iron Age in the Ancient Near East is taken to last from c. 1200 BC (the Bronze Age collapse) to c. 550 BC (or 539 BC) (wikipedia, 2022).
- Etymological note: This meaning is derived from the Latin datum (or data or dato) 'given [at]' used to mark the place and time at which a letter was written.
- The verb '[to] date' has several areas of meaning.
- To date a letter or other document is to note the date on which it was composed or written.
- Academically, 'to date' [an item] is to assign it to a period. An archaeologist, for example, may date a fragment of pottery ro the thirteenth century CE, or, in Egypt, another sherd to the thirteenth century BCE; a geologist might date the beginning of the rise of a mountain range to the Upper Cretaceous period (c. 70 million years ago); an historian of art might date a drawing to a particular phase of the artist's development; and so on.
- In a more colloquial context, 'to date' a person is to [make an arrangement to] meet that person, usually for purposes of courtship or [sexual] partnership. That it is not always sexual in nature nmay be shown by its use in other contexts; for example, young children may be taken by their parents to a play date, a social occasion when the play with contemporaries, and a dinner date, which OED defines as "an arrangement to dine with someone". adding "(now esp[ecially] someone in whom one has a romantic interest), typically in a restaurant".
