Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Date \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.

   Note: 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 {Ph[oe]nix
      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} (Zo["o]l.), a bivalve shell, or
      its inhabitant, of the genus {Pholas}, and allied genera.
      See {Pholas}.