- separation (n.)
- early 15c., from Old French separation, from Latin separationem (nominative separatio) noun of action from past participle stem of separare (see separate). Specific sense of "sundering of a married couple" is attested from c.1600. Separation of powers first recorded 1788, in "Federalist" (Hamilton), from French séparée de la puissance (Montesquieu, 1748). Separation anxiety first attested 1943.