postdate

Everyday

1. To write a date on a cheque or document that is later than the day you write it, so it only counts from that later day. tree →
2. (formal) To happen or exist after something else: «These houses postdate the castle.» tree →

In the lessons

In money and grown-up life a postdated cheque cannot be cashed until its date. In history and science (dating rocks or objects) it means «come after». It is the opposite of «predate». Phrases: «postdate a cheque», «a postdated cheque», «postdate the war».

Examples

• Dad postdated the cheque to the first of next month. tree →
• The bank will not pay a postdated cheque before its date. tree →
• The town's library postdates the church by two hundred years. tree →
• These cave paintings postdate the oldest ones found in Spain. tree →
• If something postdates another thing, it came later. tree →
• The coins in the hoard postdate the Roman invasion. tree →

Note

Opposite: predate (to come before; also to date earlier). Sometimes spelled «post-date». Traps: postdate has nothing to do with the post (mail); «post» here is Latin for «after». On a timeline, the thing that postdates sits further to the right (later).