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Definition of date palm
date palm
Plural:date palms
date palm Lexical Profile
CEFR
B2
Grade
6
Tier
2
Usage
Top 10k
• noun
1
A tall, feather-leaved tropical and subtropical palm tree native to the Middle East and North Africa, extensively cultivated for its sweet, edible fruit.
Example
"The ancient oasis was surrounded by a dense grove of date palms that provided both shade and a vital food source for travelers."
Word Origin & Etymology
The word 'date' derives via Old French from the Greek 'daktylos' meaning 'finger' (referencing the fruit's elongated shape), while 'palm' comes from the Latin 'palma' for 'palm of the hand', referring to the radiating shape of the tree's fronds.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Date palm. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/date palm