Associate

How to spell associate

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce associate

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does associate mean?

1. verbTo connect one thing with another in the mind, or to spend time with a person or group.
2. nounA partner or colleague, especially a junior or non-senior member of a firm.

Associate in a sentence

• verb

  Many people associate the smell of pine with the winter holidays.

• noun

  The law firm hired a new associate straight from university.

• verb

  Investigators warned him not to associate with known criminals.

• noun

  She introduced her business associate to the visiting clients.

Where does associate come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin associare, meaning 'to join with' or 'to unite', which was formed from the prefix ad- 'to, toward' (assimilated to as- before the s) and socius, the Latin noun for a companion, partner, or ally. That same socius root gives English a whole family of related words, including 'society', 'social', and 'sociable', all carrying the idea of people bound together as companions. English took the term up in the late 1300s through Old French, first as a verb meaning to link or ally one thing with another. The noun and adjective senses, describing a partner or junior colleague, followed later as the word settled into business and professional life. The spelling trap is the quiet middle: writers must remember the doubled s of as- plus the soci spelling, and the -ci- pronounced like 'sh' tempts some to write 'sh' instead.

How the word is built

• as- (variant of ad-: to, toward)
• soci (from socius: companion, ally)
• -ate (verb/noun suffix)