separate

See also: sepárate

English

Etymology

From Latin sēparātus, perfect passive participle of sēparāre (“to separate”), from sē (“apart”) +‎ parō (“prepare”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“produce, procure, bring forward, bring forth”). Displaced Middle English scheden, from Old English scēadan (whence English shed).

Pronunciation
  • (adjective, noun) IPA(key): /ˈsɛp.ɹət/, /ˈsɛ.pɚˌət/
  • (verb) IPA(key): /ˈsɛ.pɚˌeɪt/
  • Audio (US), adjective(file)
  • Audio (US), verb(file)
  • Rhymes: (adjective, noun) -ɛpəɹət, (verb) -ɛpəɹeɪt
  • Hyphenation: sep‧a‧rate

Adjective

separate (not comparable)

  1. Apart from (the rest); not connected to or attached to (anything else).
    This chair can be disassembled into five separate pieces.
  2. (followed by “from”) Not together (with); not united (to).
    I try to keep my personal life separate from work.

Derived terms
  • separate but equal

Translations

Verb

separate (third-person singular simple present separates, present participle separating, simple past and past participle separated)

  1. (transitive) To divide (a thing) into separate parts.
    Separate the articles from the headings.
    Synonyms: partition, split; see also Thesaurus:divide
  2. (transitive) To disunite from a group or mass; to disconnect.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:disjoin
  3. (transitive) To cause (things or people) to be separate.
    • 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
      It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: […];  […]; or perhaps to muse on the irrelevance of the borders that separate nation states and keep people from understanding their shared environment.
    If the kids get too noisy, separate them for a few minutes.
    Synonyms: split up, tear apart
  4. (intransitive) To divide itself into separate pieces or substances.
    The sauce will separate if you don't keep stirring.
    Synonyms: break down, come apart, disintegrate, fall apart
  5. (obsolete) To set apart; to select from among others, as for a special use or service.
    Synonyms: earmark, sepose; see also Thesaurus:set apart

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

separate (plural separates)

  1. (usually in the plural) Anything that is sold by itself, especially articles of clothing such as blouses, skirts, jackets, and pants.
    • 2017 October 2, Jess Cartner-Morle, “Stella McCartney lays waste to disposable fashion in Paris”, in the Guardian‎:
      French taffeta evening separates – a puffball skirt, and a ruffled blouse – were pressed flat to drag them up to date.
  2. (bibliography) A printing of an article from a periodical as its own distinct publication and distributed independently, often with different page numbers.

Usage notes

See also

Anagrams

German

Pronunciation
  • Audio(file)

Adjective

separate

  1. inflection of separat:
    1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
    2. strong nominative/accusative plural
    3. weak nominative all-gender singular
    4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /se.paˈra.te/
  • Rhymes: -ate
  • Hyphenation: se‧pa‧rà‧te

Adjective

separate

  1. feminine plural of separato

Noun

separate

  1. plural of separata

Verb

separate

  1. inflection of separare:
    1. second-person plural present indicative
    2. second-person plural imperative

Latin

Pronunciation
  • (Classical) IPA(key): /seː.paˈraː.te/, [s̠eːpäˈräːt̪ɛ]
  • (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /se.paˈra.te/, [sepäˈräːt̪e]

Verb

sēparāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of sēparō

References
  • “separate”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “separate”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • separate in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

separate

  1. definite singular of separat
  2. plural of separat

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

separate

  1. definite singular of separat
  2. plural of separat
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