"Seeing", "dating", and the "date"

I made some linguistic fuss a week ago when my friend Alex and Marcus referred to Christian and I as dating and said that we're not dating but - (casually) seeing each other.
They asked what the hell the difference is. Dating for me entails the notion of some kind of a pre-commitment. You're not sure if you want a relationship or its simply too early to judge. Basta!

My connotation of the word date, which refers to a singular event that generally ends after a couple of hours, can result in having 5 dates within a week with 5 different people, with no one pointing fingers.

Seeing and dating is harder to separate, but the general notion of your friend X saying i'm seeing person A and I'm seeing person B, might raise an eyebrow or two, but as long as you ahven't really set the rules for which game you're playing, you're not guilty of anything.

Datingin my oppinion, refers to events with the same person taking place over a certain span of time.

If you're dating more than one person, I'd probably ask what your intentions are, as the word alone, entails some kind of an emotional commitment to me.

Dates, which connote, as the concept of inviting someone out when there is a specific intention or motivation to fulfill some certain purpose (yes, I'm stigmatizing men and thinking of causal sex :D ), generally with a short sighted goal in the beginning of that date period, can lead to seeing someone if you like them and enjoy their company or even dating.

I didn't check any definitions online as I wanted to be as subjective and unbiased about this. I'll do so now instead :D

Happy weekend folks!

/Jasmin Fischer