affiliate

Etymology

From Late Latin adfiliare, affiliare (“to adopt as son”), from Latin ad + filius (“son”): compare French affilier.

noun

1. Someone or something, especially, a television station, that is associated with a larger, related organization, such as a television network; a member of a group of associated things.
   Our local TV channel is an affiliate of NBC.
   They used to been more of a Detroit channel, as they had showed a lot of American programs, aside from being the CBC affiliate. 29 July 1999, Chris Sobieniak, “Weird 3d NFB animated short(any canadians in here?)”, in rec.arts.animation (Usenet)

verb

1. (transitive) To adopt; to receive into a family as one's offspring
2. (transitive) to bring or receive into close connection; to ally.
3. (transitive, said of an illegitimate child) To fix the paternity of
   to affiliate the child to (or on or upon) one man rather than another
4. (transitive) To connect in the way of descent; to trace origin to.
   How do these facts tend to affiliate the faculty of hearing upon the aboriginal vegetative processes? 1855, Herbert Spencer, The Principles of Psychology
5. (intransitive, followed by "to" or "with") To attach (to) or unite (with); to receive into a society as a member, and initiate into its mysteries, plans, etc.