Main Entry: ¹apart

Pronunciation: \ə-ˈpärt\

Function: adverb

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French a part, literally, to one side

Date: 14th century

1 a : at a little distance <tried to keep apart from the family squabbles> b : away from one another in space or time <towns 20 miles apart>
2 a : as a separate unit : independently <viewed apart, his arguments were unsound> b : so as to separate one from another <found it hard to tell the twins apart>
3 : excluded from consideration : aside <a few blemishes apart, the novel is excellent>
4 : in or into two or more parts : to pieces <coming apart at the seams>