Separacioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic Middle English term for the act of parting things or people, or the condition of being kept apart from one another
2. A medieval spelling of separation, meaning the process of dividing something or the state of being set apart
3. Old English-era word describing the division or parting of things or persons so that they are no longer together

Etymology: "Separacioun" is a Middle English form of a noun built from the Latin verb "separare," which combines "se-," meaning "apart," with "parare," meaning "to prepare or arrange." To separate was, at root, to arrange things apart. The same "parare" root gives English "prepare" and "repair." The noun reached English through Old French "separacion," from Latin "separatio," a noun of action formed from that verb. The spelling "separacioun" reflects Middle English before English spelling settled into its modern form, but the meaning has stayed the same: the act of parting.