Etymologically
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separation

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌsɛp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English separacioun, borrowed from Old French separacion and directly Latin separatio (“separation”),[2][3][4] from the past participle stem of sēparāre (“to pull apart”) (see separate),[2][4] from sē-, apart, and parāre, to make ready, prepare, from PIE Proto-Indo-European *pere- (“to produce, procure”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A severing or detaching, setting apart: 1413 in the OED, about 1400 in Etymonline.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Separating oneself, parting company, is from about 1450.[5] The sundering of a married couple without dissolving the marriage is attested from about 1600.[2][5] A sect of separatists from the Church is a sense of 1599.[5] Separation of powers in politics is from 1748 in the OED, by 1792 in Etymonline, after Montesquieu.[5][2] In the United States a discharge from employment or military service is from 1779.[5] In printing, a monochrome image representing one colour of a photograph is from 1922.[2] The noun separateness (1650s) keeps the meaning of a distinct state.[2] In Northumberland and Durham coal mining, separation meant filling and being paid for only the large coals, the small ones being cast back into the mine.[6]

Timeline

  • 1413 – a severing.[5]
  • c. 1450 – parting company.[5]
  • c. 1600 – marital separation.[2][5]
  • 1748 – separation of powers.[5]
  • 1779 – discharge (US).[5]
  • 1922 – colour separation.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of separating, or the state of being separated.
  2. The place where a division occurs; a gap.
  3. (law) An arrangement or court order under which a married couple live apart without divorce.

Word family

  • preseparation
  • reseparation
  • nonseparation
  • separationist
  • legal separation
  • judicial separation
  • separation anxiety
  • separation energy

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)