English
association
Association comes from Latin associō ‘to join (to), unite or associate (with)’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEassociō1‘to join’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEassociātiō1
- Englishearliest quotation 1837association1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English association
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, The Fête at Sir Robert Walpole’s Continued: “"Well," exclaimed Lady Marchmont, breathing the perfume with which…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEassociōWiktionary, English association‘to join’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEassociātiōWiktionary, English association
- Englishearliest quotation 1837associationWiktionary, English association. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1837, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, The Fête at Sir Robert Walpole’s Continued: “"Well," exclaimed Lady Marchmont, breathing the perfume with which…”
A compound of socius ‘sharing, joining in, partaking, associated’ + sociō ‘to unite, join, ally, associate with’ + associō ‘to join (to), unite or associate (with)’
Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to follow’
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷéh₂
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷh₂ṓy ‘follower in one's retinue’
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷyós
Proto-Italic *sokjos ‘companion’
Latin sokios
Latin socius ‘sharing, joining in, partaking, associated’
Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to follow’
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷéh₂
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷh₂ṓy ‘follower in one's retinue’
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷyós
Proto-Italic *sokjos ‘companion’
Latin sokios
Latin socius ‘sharing, joining in, partaking, associated’
Latin sociō ‘to unite, join, ally, associate with’
Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- ‘to follow’
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷéh₂
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷh₂ṓy ‘follower in one's retinue’
Proto-Indo-European *sokʷyós
Proto-Italic *sokjos ‘companion’
Latin sokios
Latin socius ‘sharing, joining in, partaking, associated’
Latin sociō ‘to unite, join, ally, associate with’
Latin associō ‘to join (to), unite or associate (with)’
The story
The Philippine sense is a calque of Spanish gremio.
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Today it means
noun The act of associating.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “association”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin associō / association