The word date was allegedly coined in 1896, by a forlorn lover. According to Moira Weigels book, Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating, the word date first popped up in a newspaper column in which a heartbroken clerk named Artie wrote that the object of his affections was seeing other people.

When did the concept of dating began?

The concept of dating really began at the turn of the 20th century. Prior to the late early 1900s, courtship was a much more private, unemotional affair.