separation English · revision 7513

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1413|origins=la separo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌsɛp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English separacioun, [[bor|fro|separacion]] and directly Latin [[m|la|separatio|t=separation]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from the past participle stem of [[m|la|separo|alt=sēparāre|t=to pull apart]] (see [[separate]]),^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) from sē-, apart, and parāre, to make ready, prepare, from PIE [[ine-pro|*per-|alt=*pere-|t=to produce, procure]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A severing or detaching, setting apart: 1413 in the OED, about 1400 in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Separating oneself, parting company, is from about 1450.^(OED 1989) The sundering of a married couple without dissolving the marriage is attested from about 1600.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A sect of separatists from the Church is a sense of 1599.^(OED 1989) ''Separation of powers'' in politics is from 1748 in the OED, by 1792 in Etymonline, after Montesquieu.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In the United States a discharge from employment or military service is from 1779.^(OED 1989) In printing, a monochrome image representing one colour of a photograph is from 1922.^(Etymonline) The noun separateness (1650s) keeps the meaning of a distinct state.^(Etymonline) 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.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1413 – a severing.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1450 – parting company.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1600 – marital separation.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1748 – separation of powers.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1779 – discharge (US).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1922 – colour separation.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of [[separate|alt=separating]], or the state of being separated.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The place where a division occurs; a [[gap]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(law)'' An arrangement or court order under which a married couple live apart without [[divorce]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[preseparation]]

+ * [[reseparation]]

+ * [[nonseparation]]

+ * [[separationist]]

+ * [[legal separation]]

+ * [[judicial separation]]

+ * [[separation anxiety]]

+ * [[separation energy]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[separate]]

+ * [[sever]]

+ * [[several]]

+ * [[prepare]]

+ * [[repair]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}