separate

verb
/ˈsɛp.(ə.)ɹət/UK/ˈsɛp.ɹət/CA/ˈsep.ɹət/

Etymology

From Middle English separaten (“to separate”), from separat (“separated”) + -en, from Latin sēparātus, perfect passive participle of sēparō (“to separate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), 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). Doublet of sever, also derived from the same Latin verb.

  1. derived from *per- — “produce, procure, bring forward, bring forth
  2. derived from sēparātus
  3. inherited from separaten

Definitions

  1. To divide (a thing) into separate parts.

    • Separate the articles from the headings.
  2. To disunite from a group or mass

    To disunite from a group or mass; to disconnect.

    • Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
    • From the fine gold I separate the allay [alloy].
  3. To cause (things or people) to be separate.

    • If the kids get too noisy, separate them for a few minutes.
  4. + 6 more definitions
    1. To divide itself into separate pieces or substances.

      • The sauce will separate if you don't keep stirring.
    2. To set apart

      To set apart; to select from among others, as for a special use or service.

      • Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
    3. Apart from (the rest)

      Apart from (the rest); not connected to or attached to (anything else).

      • This chair can be disassembled into five separate pieces.
      • Syntactically, hendiadic constructions differ from synthetonic sequences in that the latter are separate clauses, and hence are separately negatable and may have different tenses and aspects and different subjects.
    4. Not together (with)

      Not together (with); not united (to).

      • I try to keep my personal life separate from work.
    5. Anything that is sold by itself, especially articles of clothing such as blouses, skirts,…

      Anything that is sold by itself, especially articles of clothing such as blouses, skirts, jackets, and pants.

      • French taffeta evening separates – a puffball skirt, and a ruffled blouse – were pressed flat to drag them up to date.
    6. A printing of an article from a periodical as its own distinct publication and…

      A printing of an article from a periodical as its own distinct publication and distributed independently, often with different page numbers.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at separate. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01separate02mass03collective04gathering05bifolios06bifolio07leaves08leaf09specialise10specialize

A definitional loop anchored at separate. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at separate

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA