segregate
Meaning
to separate or set apart from others or from a main body or group.
to impose the separation of (a racial, ethnic, or religious group) from the rest of society.
Structure
Usage
the laboratory procedure requires you to segregate the samples by date.
for decades, laws existed to segregate public schools and facilities.
the farmer built a new pen to segregate the sick animals from the healthy herd.
Etymology
the word 'segregate' originates from the latin verb segregare, which is a compound of the prefix se- ("apart") and the root grex ("flock" or "herd"). its literal meaning was "to separate from the flock." this concrete, pastoral imagery was carried into english in the 16th century, initially used in general contexts of separation. over time, the core logic of "setting apart from a group" evolved to acquire its most significant and troubling modern application: the enforced separation of people based on race, ethnicity, or other social categories, moving from a physical to a deeply social and political abstraction.
Analysis
se: a latin prefix meaning "apart, away." greg: from latin grex, gregis, meaning "flock, herd." ate: a latin-derived suffix used to form verbs meaning "to act upon, to cause to become."