Date, n.[F. datte, L. dactylus, fr. Gr. &?;, prob. not the same word as da`ktylos finger, but of Semitic origin.] (Bot.) The fruit of the date palm; also, the date palm itself.
This fruit is somewhat in the shape of an olive, containing a soft pulp, sweet, esculent, and wholesome, and inclosing a hard kernel.
Date palm, or Date tree (Bot.), the genus of palms which bear dates, of which common species is Phnix dactylifera. See Illust. -- Date plum (Bot.), the fruit of several species of Diospyros, including the American and Japanese persimmons, and the European lotus (D. Lotus). -- Date shell, or Date fish (Zoöl.), a bivalve shell, or its inhabitant, of the genus Pholas, and allied genera. See Pholas.
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Date (?), n. [F. date, LL. data, fr. L. datus given, p. p. of dare to give; akin to Gr. &?;, OSlaw. dati, Skr. d. Cf. Datum, Dose, Dato, Die.] 1. That addition to a writing, inscription, coin, etc., which specifies the time (as day, month, and year) when the writing or inscription was given, or executed, or made; as, the date of a letter, of a will, of a deed, of a coin. etc.
And bonds without a date, they say, are void.
Dryden.
2. The point of time at which a transaction or event takes place, or is appointed to take place; a given point of time; epoch; as, the date of a battle.
He at once,
Down the long series of eventful time,
So fixed the dates of being, so disposed
To every living soul of every kind
The field of motion, and the hour of rest.
Akenside.