dating

Dating is an activity of spending time together ("going on dates") usually through planned social encounters, with the intention of getting to know each other, often with a romantic or intimate purpose. While the result of dating may at any time lead to friendship, any level of intimate relationship, marriage, or no relation, its significance extends beyond relationship status. Psychological research suggests that dating can also function as a form of personal growth, as individuals expand their understanding of themselves and others through shared experiences and emotional exchange.

== Etymology == The earliest recorded use of the noun "date" in English appeared in 1896 in the writings of George Ade, a columnist for the Chicago Record. In this context date referred to a form of "public" courtship, when a woman met a man outside the private sphere of the home or court. In Ade's 1899 collection "Fabels in Slang", he used the term "Date Book" to describe a ledger kept by a shop cashier to track her dates with suitors until marriage.