Etymologically
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associo

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:58. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [asˈsɔ.ki.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [asˈsɔː.t͡ʃi.o][1]

Forms

associō (present infinitive associāre, perfect active associāvī, supine associātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from ad- and sociō “to unite, share”, from socius “companion”.[2][1][3] It is also spelled ⟨adsociō⟩.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis and Short call it post-Augustan, and Gaffiot's earliest citation is from Statius' Thebaid.[4][5] Köbler dates Statius c. 45–96 AD.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to join to, unite with, associate a person or thing, as Claudian's horns joined to the masts and the Digest's adsociātī prīncipālī cūrae “associated in the emperor's care”.[2][4] Gaffiot adds Claudian's sense of subjecting.[5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to escort, come over, associate, work with.[7] English associate came in the mid-15th century from its participle associātus.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 45–96 AD – Statius uses it.[5][6]
  • 533 AD – The Digest has adsociātī.[4][6]
  • mid-15th century – English associate is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To join to, unite with, associate.[2][4]
  2. To subject.[5]
  3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To escort; to work with.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson