separate

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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

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

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.
    Synonyms: partition, split; see also Thesaurus:divide
    Separate the articles from the headings.
  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.
    Synonyms: split up, tear apart
    If the kids get too noisy, separate them for a few minutes.
    • 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 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.
  4. (intransitive) To divide itself into separate pieces or substances.
    Synonyms: break down, come apart, disintegrate, fall apart
    The sauce will separate if you don't keep stirring.
  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

Alternative forms

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

  • The spelling is separate (-par-). seperate (-per-) is a common misspelling.

See also

Anagrams

German

Pronunciation

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

Interlingua

Adjective

separate (not comparable)

  1. separate

Participle

separate

  1. past participle of separar

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

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

Spanish

Verb

separate

  1. second-person singular voseo imperative of separar combined with te
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