separate

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).

adj

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.

verb

1. (transitive) To divide (a thing) into separate parts.
   Separate the articles from the headings.
2. (transitive) To disunite from a group or mass; to disconnect.
3. (transitive) To cause (things or people) to be separate.
   If the kids get too noisy, separate them for a few minutes.
   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. 2013-06-07, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36
4. (intransitive) To divide itself into separate pieces or substances.
   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.

noun

1. (usually in the plural) 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. October 2, 2017, Jess Cartner-Morle, “Stella McCartney lays waste to disposable fashion in Paris”, in the Guardian
2. (bibliography) A printing of an article from a periodical as its own distinct publication and distributed independently, often with different page numbers.