date
/deɪt/noun, verb
date is spelled D-A-T-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 166 times per million words in written English, the 611th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, date means “The fruit of the date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, somewhat in the shape of an olive, containing a soft, sweet pulp and enclosing a hard kernel” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of date is dates.
How many letters and syllables are in date?
| Letters | 4: D-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 166 times per million words; the 611th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is date?
Date appears 166 times per million words in written English, the 611th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce date?
- /deɪt/
Date has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-date.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-date.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with date?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as date.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: ated.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of date
- dates plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- dating participle, present
- dated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does date mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The fruit of the date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, somewhat in the shape of an olive, containing a soft, sweet pulp and enclosing a hard kernel.
We made a nice cake from dates.
- 2
The date palm.
There were a few dates planted around the house.
- 3
AustraliaThe anus.
- 4
The addition to a writing, inscription, coin, etc., which specifies the time (especially the day, month, and year) when the writing or inscription was given, executed, or made.
the date of a letter, of a will, of a deed, of a coin, etc.
- 5
A specific day in time at which a transaction or event takes place, or is appointed to take place; a given point of time.
the date for pleading
- 6
A point in time.
You may need that at a later date.
- 7
rareAn assigned end; a conclusion.
- 8
obsoleteA given or assigned length of life; duration.
- 9
A pre-arranged meeting.
I arranged a date with my Australian business partners.
- 10
One's companion for social activities or occasions, especially a romantic partner.
I brought Melinda to the wedding as my date.
- 11
A romantic meeting or outing with a lover or potential lover, or the person so met.
We really hit it off on the first date, so we decided to meet the week after.
verb
- 1
To note the time or place of writing or executing; to express in an instrument the time of its execution.
to date a letter, a bond, a deed, or a charter
- 2
To note or fix the time of (an event); to give the date of.
- 3
To determine the age of something.
to date the building of the pyramids
- 4
To take (someone) on a date, or a series of dates.
- 5
To have a steady relationship with; to be romantically involved with.
- 6
To have a steady relationship with each other; to be romantically involved with each other.
They met a couple of years ago, but have been dating for about five months.
- 7
To make or become old, especially in such a way as to fall out of fashion, become less appealing or attractive, etc.
This show hasn't dated well.
- 8
To have beginning; to begin; to be dated or reckoned.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Date in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | datte , date , rendez-vous, rencard, réunion , cavalier |
| German | Dattel , Datum , Zeitpunkt, Termin , Ende , datieren |
| Portuguese | tâmara , data , encontro , fim , validade , datar |
| Spanish | dátil , fecha, data , cita , fechar, datar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does date come from?
From Middle English date, from Old French date, datil, datille, from Latin dactylus (likely via Old Provençal datil), from Ancient Greek δάκτυλος (dáktulos, “finger”) (from the resemblance of the date to a human finger), probably a folk-etymological alteration of a word from a Semitic source such as Arabic دَقَل (daqal, “variety of date palm”) or Hebrew דֶּקֶל (deqel, “date palm”). Doublet of dactyl and dactylus. Displaced native Old English fingeræppel, literally "finger-apple".
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).