Etymograph

English

separate

Separate comes from Latin sēparātus ‘divided’, from sēparō (sē- ‘apart’ + parō ‘to prepare’), and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥h₃o-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥h₃o-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*paro-reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparō‘to arrange, prepare’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēparō‘to divide, separate’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēparātus‘divided’perfect passive participle of sēparō
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500separat‘separated’
  7. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500separaten‘to separate’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611separate

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥h₃o-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*paro-reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEparō‘to arrange, prepare’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēparō‘to divide, separate’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēparātus‘divided’perfect passive participle of sēparō
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500separat‘separated’
  7. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500separaten‘to separate’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1611separate

Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”

Linked words

through Latin parō ‘to arrange’

empire, emperor, imperial, repair, preparation, empress, apparel, apparatus, parachute, preparatory, imperium, imperious, disparate, pare, rampart, imperator, reparation, 18 more

through Latin sēparō ‘to separate’

several, severance, inseparable, 4 more

Another origin of separate

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500separat
  2. Englishtodayseparate

Today it means

verb To divide (a thing) into separate parts.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pr̥h₃o- / separate

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