People who say they're dating someone, despite having not gone on a date for years

Former Member

I've often heard people say that they've been dating someone for x number of years. Further into the conversation they state that they stopped going on dates years ago. Why do they use the term dating, when they're not actually doing that? Is the word dating commonly used as a euphemism for being in a sexual relationship? If so, how do you tell the difference between someone who's using it in that euphemistic sense and someone who's using it in the literal sense?

Former Member

Because noone is going to come out with "I've been having sex with this person for 5 years". Why do you need to know if they are going out for a meal every Friday night?

Former Member

Why not say that they've been in a relationship with him/her for five years? They don't need to mention sex. Millions of people are in sexual relationships - it stopped being frowned upon long before we were born. If you heard someone say "I'm dating someone", would you expect that they've been in a relationship with that person for years and that they haven't been on any dates for the last few years? Likewise with the expression 'seeing someone', which makes it sound like a recent thing. If a person has a long-term partner whom (s)he shares his/her life with, to say that (s)he's merely 'seeing them' sounds ridiculous.

There's a big difference between regularly going on dates with someone as opposed to being in a relationship that doesn't involve dating. The first one is typically a courtship situation where he's trying to impress her, prove that he's good enough for her and establish/cement a relationship - the second one is typically an already established and familiar relationship where the need to impress her and prove himself is no longer needed.