# separate

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈsɛp.(ə.)ɹət/ · frequency rank #1,577

## Definitions
1. To divide (a thing) into separate parts.
2. To disunite from a group or mass; to disconnect.
3. To cause (things or people) to be separate.
4. To divide itself into separate pieces or substances.
5. To set apart; to select from among others, as for a special use or service.

## Etymology
From Middle English separaten (“to separate”), from separat (“separated”) + -en, from Latin sēparātus, perfect passive participle of sēparō (“to separate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), 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).
Doublet of sever, also derived from the same Latin verb.

## Easily confused with
- **seperate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/separate-vs-seperate)
- **separated** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/separate-vs-separated)
- **separator** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/separate-vs-separator)
- **separately** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/separate-vs-separately)

## Common misspellings (11)
`esparate`, `seaprate`, `sepaarte`, `separaet`, `separatte`, `separrate`, `separtae`, `sepparate`, `sepraate`, `spearate`, `sseparate`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/separate