Past tense of separate; divided, disconnected, or set apart from others.
From Latin 'separatus,' past participle of 'separare' meaning to divide or disconnect, from 'se-' (apart) and 'parare' (to prepare, make ready). The concept involves preparing things to be apart from each other.
The phrase 'separation of powers' in government directly uses the Latin sense of 'preparing apart' - deliberately organizing different functions to remain distinct. Interestingly, 'separate' is one of the most commonly misspelled words because people confuse it with 'desperate,' despite their completely different etymologies.
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