Etymology

associate

as·so·ci·ate
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Today it means: Joined with another or others and having lower status. Full definition →

Middle English associat(e) ← Latin associātus
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associate · adjective1

  1. Latin · derived fromassociātus
  2. Middle English · inherited fromassociat(e)
  3. English todayassociate

From Middle English associat(e) (used participially as well as adjectively up to Early Modern English), from Latin associātus, the perfect passive participle of associō (“to join, unite”), from ad- + sociō, from socius (“shared, common, kindred”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix).

associate · noun2

From the substantivization of the above adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.

associate · verb3

  1. Middle English · inherited fromassociat(e)“associated, allied”
  2. English todayassociate

From Middle English associat(e) (“associated, allied”) (the verb *associaten is not found in Middle English writings and only attested at a later period), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Doublet of associe.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.