Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Separate \Sep"a*rate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Separated}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Separating}.] [L. separatus, p. p. of separare to
   separate; pfref. se- aside + parare to make ready, prepare.
   See {Parade}, and cf. {Sever}.]
   1. To disunite; to divide; to disconnect; to sever; to part
      in any manner.

            From the fine gold I separate the alloy. --Dryden.

            Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me. --Gen. xiii.
                                                  9.

            Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
                                                  --Rom. viii.
                                                  35.

   2. To come between; to keep apart by occupying the space
      between; to lie between; as, the Mediterranean Sea
      separates Europe and Africa.

   3. To set apart; to select from among others, as for a
      special use or service.

            Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto
            I have called thaem.                  --Acts xiii.
                                                  2.

   {Separated flowers} (Bot.), flowers which have stamens and
      pistils in separate flowers; diclinous flowers. --Gray.

Separate \Sep"a*rate\, v. i.
   To part; to become disunited; to be disconnected; to withdraw
   from one another; as, the family separated.

Separate \Sep"a*rate\, p. a. [L. separatus, p. p. ]
   1. Divided from another or others; disjoined; disconnected;
      separated; -- said of things once connected.

            Him that was separate from his brethren. --Gen.
                                                  xlix. 26.

   2. Unconnected; not united or associated; distinct; -- said
      of things that have not been connected.

            For such an high priest became us, who is holy,
            harmless, undefiled, separate from sinnere. --Heb.
                                                  vii. 26.

   3. Disunited from the body; disembodied; as, a separate
      spirit; the separate state of souls.

   {Separate estate} (Law), an estate limited to a married woman
      independent of her husband.

   {Separate maintenance} (Law), an allowance made to a wife by
      her husband under deed of separation. -- {Sep"a*rate*ly},
      adv. -- {Sep"a*rate*ness}, n.

Source : WordNet®

separate
     adj 1: independent; not united or joint; "a problem consisting of
            two separate issues"; "they went their separate ways";
            "formed a separate church" [ant: {joint}]
     2: individual and distinct; "pegged down each separate branch
        to the earth"; "a gift for every single child" [syn: {single(a)}]
     3: standing apart; not attached to or supported by anything; "a
        freestanding bell tower"; "a house with a separate garage"
        [syn: {freestanding}]
     4: not living together as man and wife; "decided to live
        apart"; "maintaining separate households"; "they are
        separated" [syn: {apart(p)}, {separated}]
     5: characteristic of or meant for a single person or thing; "an
        individual serving"; "separate rooms"; "single occupancy";
        "a single bed" [syn: {individual}, {single(a)}]
     6: separated according to race, sex, class, or religion;
        "separate but equal"; "girls and boys in separate classes"
     7: have the connection undone; having become separate [syn: {disjoined}]

separate
     n 1: a separately printed article that originally appeared in a
          larger publication [syn: {offprint}, {reprint}]
     2: a garment that can be purchased separately and worn in
        combinations with other garments

separate
     v 1: act as a barrier between; stand between; "The mountain range
          divides the two countries" [syn: {divide}]
     2: force, take, or pull apart; "He separated the fighting
        children"; "Moses parted the Red Sea" [syn: {disunite}, {divide},
         {part}]
     3: mark as different; "We distinguish several kinds of maple"
        [syn: {distinguish}, {differentiate}, {secern}, {secernate},
         {severalize}, {severalise}, {tell}, {tell apart}]
     4: separate into parts or portions; "divide the cake into three
        equal parts"; "The British carved up the Ottoman Empire
        after World War I" [syn: {divide}, {split}, {split up}, {dissever},
         {carve up}] [ant: {unite}]
     5: come apart; "The two pieces that we had glued separated"
        [syn: {divide}, {part}]
     6: divide into components or constituents; "Separate the wheat
        from the chaff"
     7: arrange or order by classes or categories; "How would you
        classify these pottery shards--are they prehistoric?"
        [syn: {classify}, {class}, {sort}, {assort}, {sort out}]
     8: become separated into pieces or fragments; "The figurine
        broke"; "The freshly baked loaf fell apart" [syn: {break},
         {split up}, {fall apart}, {come apart}]
     9: make a division or separation [syn: {divide}]
     10: discontinue an association or relation; go different ways;
         "The business partners broke over a tax question"; "The
         couple separated after 25 years of marriage"; "My friend
         and I split up" [syn: {part}, {split up}, {split}, {break},
          {break up}]
     11: go one's own away; move apart; "The friends separated after
         the party" [syn: {part}, {split}]
     12: treat differently on the basis of sex or race [syn: {discriminate},
          {single out}]
     13: divide into two or more branches so as to form a fork; "The
         road forks" [syn: {branch}, {ramify}, {fork}, {furcate}]