date palm

American  

noun

date palms plural

1. any of several date-bearing palms of the genus Phoenix, especially P. dactylifera, having a stem reaching a height of 60 feet (18 meters) and terminating in a crown of pinnate leaves.

---

date palm British  

noun

1. a feather palm, Phoenix dactylifera , probably native to N Africa and SW Asia and widely grown in other arid warm temperate and subtropical regions for its edible fruit (dates)

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• date palms
  plural

Etymology

Origin of date palm

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

All five patients had recently consumed raw date palm sap, a sweet liquid commonly collected during winter and frequently visited by bats.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2026

Born in the Saudi date palm oasis town of Hofuf in 1974, little is known about his early life before he decided to leave Saudi Arabia and move to Europe aged 32.

From BBC • Dec. 22, 2024

Just south of Baghdad, the urban sprawl gives way to glimpses of green, with lush date palm groves bordering the Euphrates River.

From New York Times • Dec. 9, 2023

Still, Sukkot is a joyous occasion, one that is centered on four plant species: the myrtle, willow, citron and date palm, whose frond is known as the lulav.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 28, 2023

European poets, whose knowledge of the date palm is not founded on personal observation, often describe its trunk as not only slender, but particularly straight.

From Man and Nature or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action by Marsh, George P.