I've only known "date" as a noun, but what's it mean when it's used as a verb like here?
Native speaker’s answer
Rebecca
When we use "date back to", we refer to the date when something was created (i.e. the origin of something). In this example, it means that the date of origin of the idiom is somewhere in the Middle Ages. Ex: The Mona Lisa dates back to 1503. = The Mona Lisa painting was made in 1503. Ex: They found jewelry dating back to the 1700s. = The jewelry they found was made in the 1700s.