separate

sep•a•rate

v. [[t]ˈsɛp əˌreɪt[/t]] adj., n. [[t]-ər ɪt[/t]] v. -rat•ed, -rat•ing, adj. n.

1) to keep apart; divide

2) to bring or force apart:

to separate two fighting boys[/ex]

3) to disconnect; dissociate:

to separate church and state[/ex]

4) to remove from active association:

separated from the army[/ex]

5) to sort or disperse into individual components

6) to extract:

to separate metal from ore[/ex]

7) to withdraw from an association:

to separate from a church[/ex]

8) to stop living together but without divorce

9) to draw or come apart

10) to become parted from a mass or compound

11) to take or go in different directions

12) detached; distinct

13) existing or maintained independently

14) not shared; individual:

separate checks[/ex]

15) (often cap.) no longer associated with a parent organization, as a church

16) clo Usu., separates. women's garments designed to be worn in various combinations

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Etymology: 1400–50; < L sēparātus, ptp. of sēparāre=sē- se-+parāre to furnish, produce, obtain, prepare; see -ate I sep′a•rate•ly, adv. sep′a•rate•ness, n. usage: separate is often found with the spelling seperate even in quite respectable publications. Despite this frequency, however, seperate is almost universally considered a misspelling.