correlated
UK[ˈkɒrəleɪtɪd]US[ˈkɔːrəleɪtɪd]
adj
Having a mutual relationship or connection, in which one thing affects or depends on another.
verb (past tense)
Established or showed a connection or relationship between two or more things.
Morpheme Breakdown
cor
relate
d
cor
together
relate
to bring back
d
Etymology
The word 'correlated' is built upon the core verb 'relate', which originates from Latin 'referre', literally "to carry back". This implies a process of bringing two separate items or concepts into a shared context for comparison. The intensive prefix 'cor-' (a variant of 'com-', meaning "together") was added to form 'correlate', strengthening the sense of a reciprocal or mutual connection. The '-ed' suffix then marks the resulting state or action, yielding the modern meaning of things being systematically linked or connected, such that a change in one is associated with a change in the other.
Analysis
Structure: cor + relate + d
- cor: A Latin prefix meaning "together" or "with". It is an assimilated form of 'com-' used before 'r'.
- relate: From Latin 'relatus', the past participle of 'referre', meaning "to bring back", "to report", or "to connect".
- d: A suffix indicating the past tense or past participle form of a verb.
Examples
There is strong evidence that smoking and lung cancer are highly correlated.
The researcher correlated the survey data with economic indicators.
We observed a correlated increase in both temperature and energy consumption.