Etymology

congregate

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Today it means: To collect into an assembly or assemblage; to bring into one place, or into a united body. Full definition →

Middle English congregat(e) ← Latin congregātus
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromcongregātus
  2. Middle English · inherited fromcongregat(e)“(of people) banded together; (of liquids) accumulated; (of muscles) contracted; (of wounds) closed up”
  3. English todaycongregate

The adjective is first attested in 1400–1450, in Middle English, the verb c. 1513; from Middle English congregat(e) (“(of people) banded together; (of liquids) accumulated; (of muscles) contracted; (of wounds) closed up”), borrowed from Latin congregātus, perfect passive participle of congregō (“to congregate”) (see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3), from con- (“with, together”) + gregō (“to collect into a flock”), from grex (“flock, herd”). See gregarious and egregious. Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.