Etymologically
Log in

separatim

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word separatim

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
86/82 BC, Rhetorica ad Herennium
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*prh₃-o-)

Forms

sēparātim (comparative sēparātius, superlative sēparātissimē)[1]

Etymology

It is formed with the suffix -im on sēparātus, the participle of sēparō (“to separate”).[2][3] sēparō is sē- (“apart”) and parō (“to prepare”),[2] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *parāje/o- and a noun Proto-Indo-European *prh₃-o- (“providing”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from the Rhetorica ad Herennium.[3] Cicero uses it often, as of the gods who love individuals apart from the community.[5]

Semantic evolution

It means apart from each other or from the rest, separately, individually.[2][5] In Cicero's letters it means in particular, as when he commends one man specially after recommending the envoys of Arpinum together.[2] It also means in the abstract, apart from any particular case, as Cicero contrasts speaking of the whole class with speaking of particular times, persons and causes.[2] Döderlein distinguishes it from seorsum: what is set apart seorsum is kept from being common, with a hint of secrecy, while sēparātim separates to prevent confusion, with a hint of arrangement.[6] Church Latin glosses it separately, apart.[7]

Timeline

  • 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it.[3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of separate treatment and of speaking in the abstract.[2][3]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Apart, separately, individually.[2][5][1]
  2. In particular, specially.[2]
  3. In the abstract, without particular reference.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Separatim.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/separatim. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·