Talk:dating

I think the initial meaning of dating should remain. It is probably the most used term of the three in use.

The following information passed a request for deletion.

This discussion is no longer live and is left here as an archive. Please do not modify this conversation, but feel free to discuss its conclusions.

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dating

Sense "A form of romantic courtship typically between two individuals ..." — Looks like this is probably the gerund. The definition as it stands seems overly detailed. No plural was claimed; I added that for the other (cited) senses. — Pingku^dimmi 14:09, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

I think it should be deleted as redundant to the infinitive at (deprecated template usage) date. Although there is a plural, datings, it is found in phrases like "radiocarbon datings" and apparently never in this romantic sense. Equinox ◑ 14:16, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

It comes down to whether gerunds, when acting as nouns as they do, should be forbidden from Wiktionary as nouns. My position has been that what acts as a noun should be documented as a noun, hence keep. As regards the alleged redundancy, you might also say that "fairness" is redundant to "fair" and that "fairness" is a form of adjective. See also Wiktionary:English -ing forms and Wiktionary:Beer parlour archive/2010/September#CFI for -ing form nouns and adjectives in particular. --Dan Polansky 18:02, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

I find it very hard to accept any reasoning built on a general principle that has the following implications:

1. all Proper nouns should have full sections for Proper noun, common noun, and adjective, subject only to attestation.
2. (deprecated template usage) uncle should be have a verb section because Shakespeare(in a "well-known work") used it as a verb.
3. all terms attestably used as exclamations should have interjections.
4. all common nouns should have adjective sections and definition lines for each sense subject only to attestation.

But that's just me. Perhaps others find such a principle desirable and would enjoy participating in the effort to attest and maintain such sections. Or perhaps the problem is in reasoning arguing from slogans. DCDuring TALK 20:17, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

"Fairness is a form of adjective"? You've lost me. That definitely has nothing to do with the point I made. Equinox ◑ 20:21, 5 September 2011 (UTC)

@Equinox: If "dating" in "Dating is a form of courtship" is a form of verb, then I do not see what prevents "fairness" from being a form of adjective. While I admit that you did not say that "dating" is a form of verb, I understood your "I think it ['dating' in the particular sense] should be deleted as redundant to the infinitive at date" as your implying that the sense of "dating" requested for deletion is redundant to dating#Verb. In any case, I do not think we should delete "fairness" as redundant to "fair", whereas having no major entry for "fairness" is a strategy chosen by Merriam-Webster online. --Dan Polansky 08:13, 6 September 2011 (UTC)

Constructions like "online dating" and "speed dating" make this seem nounier than many gerunds. (By comparison, note that "online communication" is fine, while ?"online communicating" is pretty bad; that "speed chess" is fine, while ?"speed playing" is pretty bad. That said, the pretty-bad ones do get some relevant hits, so if we refuse on principle to distinguish between a phrase with three cites and a phrase with hundreds, then all gerunds are created equally nouny.) —Ruakh_TALK 00:24, 6 September 2011 (UTC)

Compare swimming#Noun, rowing#Noun. Mglovesfun (talk) 08:36, 6 September 2011 (UTC)

• Keep: widely accepted phrase that often goes above and beyond going on dates. Purplebackpack89 ^{(Notes Taken) (Locker)} 01:58, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

kept -- Liliana • 15:41, 4 March 2012 (UTC)