Where does “separate” come from?
Separate comes from Latin separatus, past participle of separare, meaning to divide or set apart, from parare meaning to prepare or make ready, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning to produce or arrange.
separate (English): To divide (a thing) into separate parts
Definitions
- To divide (a thing) into separate parts
Ancestry of “separate”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | separat | — |
| 2 | Latin | sēparātus | divided |
| 3 | Latin | sēparō | to divide, separate |
| 4 | Latin | parō | to arrange, order, contrive, design |
| 5 | Latin | pectus | chest, breast; heart, breast, as the seat of... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | pektos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | peg- | breast |
| 8 | English | polyethylene glycol | Any of a series of water-soluble polymers, of... |