What does dater mean?
Dater is an English noun formed simply by adding the agentive suffix '-er' to the verb 'date', meaning a person who goes on dates. Its most visible modern usage lies in phrases like 'serial dater' or 'online dater', where it describes someone who frequently pursues romantic encounters, sometimes with a hint of judgment about their commitment to any single relationship. A second, far less common sense refers to a mechanical device—such as a rubber stamp—that prints the current date onto documents, a fixture of offices before digital record-keeping. The word derives ultimately from the Latin dare, 'to give', via the phrase data Romae ('given at Rome') used to mark letters with their place and date of composition. Though modest, dater neatly illustrates how English builds new nouns from verbs to name people by what they habitually do.
A person who goes on dates with another person, especially casually or repeatedly.
"She described herself proudly as a lifelong dater rather than a settle-downer."
Most natural in compounds like 'serial dater' or 'online dater'; standalone use can sound slightly awkward.
A device, typically a rubber stamp or printing mechanism, that imprints a date on documents or products.
"The clerk adjusted the office dater before stamping the batch of invoices."
Chiefly commercial and technical register; largely superseded in everyday contexts by digital timestamps.
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple people who date or multiple date-stamping devices.
"Online daters often exchange messages for weeks before meeting in person."
'Serial dater' is the phrase that made this humble agent noun famous — it turns a simple -er suffix into a whole personality type.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dater
The word dater was formed in English by attaching the productive agentive suffix '-er' to the verb 'date', which entered English from Old French 'dater' in the medieval period. That verb traces back to the Latin phrase data Romae, 'given at Rome', written on letters to indicate where and when they were composed; data is the feminine past participle of dare, 'to give'. The same Latin root gives us related words such as data, datum, and dative. The romantic sense of the verb—and thus of dater—is a relatively recent development, flourishing in the early twentieth century alongside modern courtship culture.
How dater is actually used
The romantic sense often appears in compound modifiers like 'serial dater' or 'online dater' and carries a slightly informal register. The date-stamping sense is chiefly technical or commercial and much rarer in everyday speech.
Easily confused with dater
Data means factual information, while dater is a person who dates others or a device that marks dates.