The DICT Development Group

  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.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: This fruit is somewhat in the shape of an olive,
           containing a soft pulp, sweet, esculent, and wholesome,
           and inclosing a hard kernel.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     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 ({Diospyros Lotus).
  
     Date shell, or Date fish (Zool.), a bivalve shell, or its
        inhabitant, of the genus Pholas, and allied genera. See
        Pholas.
        [1913 Webster]