dateline
Meaning
A line at the head of a newspaper or magazine article giving the date and place of writing or dispatch.
The International Date Line.
Structure
Usage
The article carried a Moscow dateline.
The ship crossed the dateline at midnight.
Always check the dateline to understand where and when a news story was filed.
Etymology
The word 'dateline' is a transparent modern English compound, formed by combining two native elements. 'Date' entered English via French and Latin, carrying the sense of a specified time, originally from the Latin verb 'dare' meaning "to give." 'Line' is a foundational English word of Latin origin, denoting a linear mark or boundary. The term emerged in journalism during the late 19th century to literally mean the "date line" printed in a news dispatch, specifying its origin in time and space. Its logic is perfectly literal: it is a line of text that states the date. The specialized geographical sense, 'International Date Line', is a later metaphorical extension, conceptualizing an imaginary line on the globe that separates two consecutive calendar dates.
Analysis
- date: From Old French 'date', from Medieval Latin 'data', meaning "given" (as in the opening phrase of a letter, "data Romae" meaning "given at Rome"). In this compound, it functions as a noun meaning a specific day or time. - line: From Old English 'līne', from Latin 'linea' ("linen thread, string, line"). In this compound, it functions as a noun meaning a mark, boundary, or rule.