Dating-noun is when you are actually in a relationship with a person; he/she is your boyfriend/girlfriend. I’d also like to add here that a relationship is not: friends with benefits, a flirtationship, or a fling. Neither is it (as Urban Dictionary states) “the most un-sturdy and uncertain vessel to navigate through any ocean of the heart, while the warm winds of prevailing love and romance blow favourably through its sails”. No, a relationship is a commitment, a connection.
Now that we’ve cleared what a relationship is, back to dating-noun! I guess you could say that dating-noun is like saying you are relationshipping a person, yes I just made that word up. For example, “I’m dating-noun John Smith” is the same as saying “I’m relationshipping John Smith”. I think I would also chuck courting in this category too. Courting pretty much means to be involved with someone romantically, with the intention of marriage. So if you are in a serious relationship with someone you are courting, also known as dating-noun him or her.
Now let’s look at dating-verb! Dating-verb is when you are going on dates with someone; you are actively getting to know them to see if a relationship is worth pursuing, to see if they are worth dating-noun. According to Urban dictionary dating-verb is “defined by massive usage of cologne and/or perfume, awkward sweaty hand-holding, and feelings of puppy love”. An additional definition stated dating-verb as “when you have been going on romantic encounters with a certain person for some time and he has yet to ask you to be his girlfriend because he is a wuss; an unofficial couple”. I feel like James Morrison’s song “You Give Me Something” nails the whole dating-verb situation, especially the part where he says:
You give me something
That makes me scared alright
This could be nothing
But I’m willing to give it a try
Ol’ James is pretty much the real life version of the ‘wussy guy’ in Urban Dictionary‘s definition of dating-verb. He is obviously dating-verb her and is too scared to take it to the next level and progress into dating-noun her. But he is ‘willing to give it a try’; so maybe if they end up getting together his next song will be called You Gave Me Something…
You gave me something
That made me scared alright
I thought it was nothing
But I’m glad I gave it a try
So now that have you been enlightened of the dating world, it’s time to use this new knowledge accordingly! I made my mistake of thinking my friend was in a relationship with a guy, when in fact she was dating-verb him. But now with these definitions of dating-noun and dating-verb I can ensure that that mistake will not be made again.