What does postdate mean?
Postdate means to date something after a particular date or event. It is especially useful in formal and historical contexts, where the order of events matters or where a document has a date later than the date on which it was actually issued or completed. For example, a regulation may postdate a policy change, meaning that it came into force afterward. A letter or certificate can also be postdated, with a date later than the day it was signed or received. The word is related to the prefix post-, meaning “after,” and the noun date. Unlike simply saying “follow,” postdate specifically emphasizes dating or chronology, making it particularly appropriate in legal, administrative, and editorial prose.
To date something later than another date or event, or to put a date later than the actual date on a document.
"The contract postdates the meeting at which the parties first discussed it."
Formal; common in legal, administrative, and historical contexts.
A date later than another date or event.
"The report's publication was a postdate of the election."
Less common than the verb; typically used when discussing dates and chronology.
The plural is used when referring to several dates that fall after other specified dates or events.
"The records include several postdates of the original announcement."
Postdating a document can place it formally after an event, even when the document itself was prepared much earlier.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does postdate come from?
The word is formed in English from the prefix post-, meaning “after,” and the noun date. The prefix derives from Latin post, meaning “after” or “behind,” while date comes through Old French from Latin datum, a past participle meaning “given” or “set.” The combination developed with the meaning “to assign a date later than another,” and the noun use refers to a later date.
How postdate is actually used
The verb is formal and is especially common in legal, administrative, and historical writing. It can refer either to placing a later date on a document or to the chronological relationship between two events.
Easily confused with postdate
To postdate something is to date or place it after another event, whereas to predate it is to place it before that event.