Association

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /əˌsəʊʃiˈeɪʃən/, /əˌsəʊsiˈeɪʃən/
• GenAm IPA: /əˌsoʊʃiˈeɪʃən/, /əˌsəʊsiˈeɪʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Origin

From Latin associātiōnem, from associāre (perhaps via French association).

Full definition of association

Noun

1. The act of associating.
2. The state of being associated; a connection to or an affiliation with something.
• 2012, Jan Sapp, Race Finished, Few concepts are as emotionally charged as that of race. The word conjures up a mixture of associations—culture, ethnicity, genetics, subjugation, exclusion and persecution. But is the tragic history of efforts to define groups of people by race really a matter of the misuse of science, the abuse of a valid biological concept?
3. (statistics) Any relationship between two measured quantities that renders them statistically dependent (but not necessarily causal or a correlation).
4. A group of persons associated for a common purpose; an organization; society.

Derived terms

• guilt by association

Related terms

• associate verb
• associational adj