What makes a date a date? Options

[*mipadi*]

Maybe it's my relative lack of experience in the area of relationships, but there's a question that often nags at me: What makes a date a date? At first glance, this may seem like an easy answer; but it's one that seems to elude people I ask. Take, for example, these two different, yet similar, scenarios:

1. You notice a nice young member of the opposite sex with whom you go to school. You think it might be nice to take him/her out sometime—dinner, a movie, something along those lines. So you ask him/her to a movie. Is that a date or just a friendly outing, and why? How do you know? How do you make it clear one way or the other?
2. You are friends with a young member of the opposite sex. You hang out with each other on a semi-regular basis. You decide to ask him/her to a movie or dinner. Is that a date or just a friendly outing, and why? How do you know? How do you make it clear one way or the other?

[*not_your_average*]

In both situations, it all really depends on how you ask him or her. The question may seem to nag you, but I really don't think you should be thinking about it. Just asking a girl if you wanted to hang out sometime and continuing to "hang out" will eventually turn into dating. It doesn't really need to be said, it just kind of happens.