noun / verb / adjective

affiliate

uh-FIL-ee-ayt/əˈfɪlieɪt/

A formal connection with another person, organization, or group.

The representative registers a new affiliate and issues an organizational credential.

An organization representative formally registers a new affiliate and issues him an organizational credential.

Etymology

afLatinto, toward

+filiLatinson

+ateLatinpast-participle ending

'To' and 'son' form the image of adopting someone as a son. That family relationship became a figurative model for formally bringing a person or organization into close association.

In context

History Hustle4:12

refused to affiliate itself directly with Italian Fascism and German Nazism

Vidkun Quisling and the Nasjonal Samling: Norway's Collaborationist Movement of World War II

More examples

The hospital affiliated with a university.
Several affiliate stations carried the broadcast.
She chose to affiliate with the new association.

Forms

affiliate · affiliates · affiliated · affiliating

affiliation noun — a formal connection with a group

Similar words

associate: An associate has a connection; an affiliate usually has a formal organizational relationship.
subsidiary: A subsidiary is controlled by a parent company; an affiliate need not be owned or controlled by its partner.