| separable | Capable of being separated, disjoined, disunited, or divided; as, the separable parts of plants; qualities not separable from the substance in which they exist. Sep"arableness, Sep"arably, "Trials permit me not to doubt of the separableness of a yellow tincture from gold." (Boyle) Origin: L. Separabilis: cf. F. Separable. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| separate | 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. <botany> 2) Separated flowers, flowers which have stamens and pistils in separate flowers; diclinous flowers. Origin: L. Separatus, p. P. Of separare to separate; pfref. Se- aside + parare to make ready, prepare. See Parade, and cf. Sever. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| separating | Designed or employed to separate. <chemistry> Separating funnel, a funnel, often globe-shaped, provided with a stopcock for the separate drawing off of immiscible liquids of different specific gravities. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| separating medium | Any coating which serves to prevent one surface from adhering to another, in dentistry, a material usually applied to a cast to facilitate separation from the resin denture base after curing; a coating on impressions to facilitate removal of the cast. (05 Mar 2000) |
| separating wire | A wire, usually of soft brass, used to gain separation between teeth. See: separation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| separation | The act of separating, or the state of being separated, or separate. Specifically: Chemical analysis. Divorce. The operation of removing water from steam. Judicial separation, a form of divorce; a separation of man and wife which has the effect of making each a single person for all legal purposes but without ability to contract a new marriage. Origin: L. Separatio: cf. F. Separation. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| separation anxiety | A child's apprehension or fear associated with removal from or loss of a parent or significant other. (05 Mar 2000) |
| separation anxiety disorder | A mental disorder occurring in childhood characterised by excessive anxiety when the child is separated from someone to whom the child is attached, usually a parent. (05 Mar 2000) |
| separation of retina | <ophthalmology> A painless disorder (when spontaneous) where the patient complains of a gradual raising or lowering of a curtain over the visual field of the affected eye. May also occur as the result of trauma. (27 Sep 1997) |
| separation of teeth | Loss of proximal contact of teeth, in orthodontics, the creation of interproximal spaces for the fitting of an appliance. (05 Mar 2000) |
| separator | One who, or that which, separates. Specifically: A device for depriving steam of particles of water mixed with it. <chemical> An instrument used for spreading apart the threads of the warp in the loom, etc. Origin: L. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| separatory | 1. <chemistry> An apparatus used in separating, as a separating funnel. 2. <surgery> A surgical instrument for separating the pericranium from the cranium. Origin: Cf. F. Separatoire. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| separatrix | <radiobiology> In a divertor tokamak (and some other configurations), the last closed flux surface is formed not by inserting an object (limiter) but by manipulating the magnetic field, so that some field lines take a topologically different route (through the divertor, rather than simply around the central plasma). The boundary between the two types of field lines is called the separatrix. (09 Oct 1997) |