separate English · revision 3004

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1425|origins=la sēparō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: adjective UK /ˈsep.ᵊr.ət/, US /ˈsep.ɚ.ɪt/; verb UK /ˈsep.ᵊr.eɪt/, US /ˈsep.ə.reɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|separaten]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) [[bor|la|sēparātus]], past participle of [[m|la|sēparāre|t=to pull apart]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|sē-|t=apart]] and [[m|la|parāre|t=to make ready, prepare]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*pere-|t=to produce, procure]].^(Etymonline) [[sever|alt=Sever]] is a doublet, through French.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The adjective is from the verb or from Latin sēparātus,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and the noun is from the adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To put apart: probably before 1425, in a translation of Higden's ''Polychronicon'',^(Barnhart 1988) and between 1432 and 1450 in the OED.^(OED 1989) Middle English already used ''separate'' as a past participle, “cut off”, and of a spouse, “estranged”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The intransitive sense “to part, become disconnected” is from the 1580s of things and the 1680s of people.^(Etymonline) The adjective, “kept apart, divided”, is from 1600,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and “individual, particular” from the 1670s.^(Etymonline) A ''separate'' was a separatist in religion from 1612.^(Barnhart 1988) ''Separately'' is from the 1550s.^(Etymonline) ''Separate but equal'', of segregation on American railways, is by 1890,^(Etymonline) and ''separate development'', the official name of apartheid in South Africa, from 1955.^(Etymonline) ''Separates'', items of clothing worn together, is a later noun.^(MWU 2024)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1425 – verb, to put apart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1550s – ''separately''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1580s – to come apart.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1600 – adjective, disconnected.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1612 – noun, a separatist.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1670s – individual, particular.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1890 – ''separate but equal''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1955 – ''separate development''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To set or keep apart; to [[divide]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To come apart; to go different ways.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To tell apart; to [[distinguish]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of a couple, to stop living together.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To remove from a mixture; to [[isolate]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Set or kept apart; not joined.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Existing by itself; distinct, individual.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''separates'': items of clothing worn in various combinations.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[separately]]

+ * [[separateness]]

+ * [[separable]]

+ * [[separation]]

+ * [[separationist]]

+ * [[reseparate]]

+ * [[separatism]]

+ * [[separatist]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[separative]]

+ * [[sever]]

+ * [[several]]

+ * [[prepare]]

+ * [[pare]]

+ * [[apparatus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}