dater

date (from), go back to

verb dah-TEH Less Common

Also means

be dated, seem old-fashioned

Usage Note

Dater most often appears in dater de + a time period, meaning 'to date from' — ce château date du Moyen Âge. Without a preposition, ça date informally means 'that's old' or 'that shows its age.' The transitive use (to put a date on a document) is also standard.

Examples

"Cette tradition date de plusieurs siècles."

Natural Translation

This tradition dates back several centuries.

Literal Translation

This tradition dates from several centuries.

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