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as·so·ci·ate (ə-sōsē-āt′, -shē-)
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v. as·so·ci·at·ed, as·so·ci·at·ing, as·so·ci·ates
v.tr.
1. To connect in the mind or imagination: "I always somehow associate Chatterton with autumn" (John Keats).
2. To connect or involve with a cause, group, or partner: Wasn't she associated with the surrealists?
3. To correlate or connect logically or causally: Asthma is associated with air pollution.
v.intr.
1. To join in or form a league, union, or association: The workers associated in a union.
2. To spend time socially; keep company: associates with her coworkers on weekends.
n. (-ĭt, -āt′)
1.
a. A person united with another or others in an act, enterprise, or business; a partner or colleague.
b. An employee, especially one in a subordinate position,
2. A companion; a comrade.
3. One that habitually accompanies or is associated with another; an attendant circumstance.
4. A member of an institution or society who is granted only partial status or privileges.
adj. (-ĭt, -āt′)
1. Joined with another or others and having equal or nearly equal status: an associate editor.
2. Having partial status or privileges: an associate member of the club.
3. Following or accompanying; concomitant.
[From the Middle English adjective associat, associated, allied, from Latin associātus, past participle of associāre, to associate : ad-, ad- + socius, companion; see sekw-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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