Separate

How to spell separate

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce separate

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does separate mean?

1. adjectiveset apart; distinct
2. verbto divide or set apart

Separate in a sentence

• adjective

  Please put the recycling in a separate bin.

• verb

  I am going to have to separate the two of you.

• adjective

  Wash whites and colours in separate loads.

• verb

  Please separate the recycling from the general waste before collection day.

• adjective

  These are two separate issues to discuss.

• verb

  A low fence will separate the patio from the lawn.

Where does separate come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin verb separare, which meant 'to pull apart' or 'to divide'. It was built from the prefix se-, meaning 'apart' or 'aside', combined with parare, meaning 'to prepare' or 'to make ready', the same root that gives us 'prepare' and 'repair'. Latin separare passed into English in the late 1300s, partly through Old French, first as a verb and soon afterwards as an adjective. The spelling trap lives in that buried Latin par root: the middle vowel is an unstressed 'a', not the 'e' that the surrounding sound seems to suggest. Remembering 'there is A RAT in sepARATe' is a long-standing way adults keep that troublesome second 'a' in place.

How the word is built

• se- (apart)
• par (to prepare/arrange)
• -ate (verb/adjective suffix)