affiliate

[ verb uh-fil-ee-eyt; noun uh-fil-ee-it, -eyt ]

verb (used with object)

, af·fil·i·at·ed, af·fil·i·at·ing.

1. to bring into close association or connection of action or interest: You can download resources to affiliate your event with our fundraising campaign.

   The research center is affiliated with the university.

   You can download resources to affiliate your event with our fundraising campaign.

2. to attach or unite (oneself or another person) in fellowship or membership; associate (usually followed by with in U.S. usage, by to in British usage):

   He affiliated himself with almost every group dedicated to improving the economic condition of the individual farmer.

   Some of the Greek mixed-faith families affiliated their children to Orthodox Christianity, others to Islam.

3. to trace the descent, derivation, or origin of:

   Competing hypotheses affiliate the language with either Afroasiatic or Nilo-Saharan.

4. to integrate or extend membership to; adopt (as an affiliate):

   The National Golf Federation affiliated the club, giving it an immediate prestige.

5. to connect or associate in thought:

   Many people tend to affiliate the sciences with better pay and job security.

6. Law. to fix the paternity of, as an illegitimate child:

   The mother affiliated her child upon John Doe.

verb (used without object)

, af·fil·i·at·ed, af·fil·i·at·ing.

1. to associate oneself; be intimately united in action or interest:

   Our health advocacy group affiliates with hospitals equipped with the best facilities.

noun

1. a branch organization.
2. Commerce.
   1. a business concern in which a larger concern owns a minority stake, or in which a third concern, the parent of both, owns a majority stake or has been given control by contract:

      The video was reportedly broadcast on STV, an affiliate of Global Television, on September 30, 1999.

   2. (especially in online retail) a company that retails goods on behalf of one or more other companies, paying them a commission:

      Cookies are used to track a customer's progress from the website of the affiliate through to the shopping cart of the merchant.

   3. (in U.S. tax law) subsidiary:

      Development Tax Credits are not available for property owned by the taxpayer or an affiliate prior to July 3, 2000.

3. a person who is affiliated; associate; subordinate.

affiliate

verb

1. tr; foll by to or with to receive into close connection or association (with a larger body, group, organization, etc); adopt as a member, branch, etc
2. foll by with to associate (oneself) or be associated, esp as a subordinate or subsidiary; bring or come into close connection

   he affiliated himself with the Union

noun

1. 1. a person or organization that is affiliated with another
   2. ( as modifier )

      an affiliate member

Derived Forms

• afˌfiliˈation, noun

Other Words From

• af·fil·i·a·ble [uh, -, fil, -ee-, uh, -b, uh, l], adjective
• af·fil·i·a·tive [uh, -, fil, -ee-ey-tiv, -, fil, -ee-, uh, -], adjective
• non·af·fil·i·ate noun
• non·af·fil·i·at·ing adjective
• pre·af·fil·i·ate noun
• pre·af·fil·i·ate verb preaffiliated preaffiliating
• re·af·fil·i·ate verb reaffiliated reaffiliating

Word History and Origins

Origin of affiliate¹

First recorded in 1755–65; from Latin affīliātus “adopted as son” (past participle of affīliāre ), equivalent to af- af- + fīli(us) “son” + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of affiliate¹

C18: from Medieval Latin affīliātus adopted as a son, from affīlīare, from Latin filius son

Example Sentences

CNN’s, BuzzFeed’s and Wirecutter’s courses all have built-in an affiliate strategies that layer in products that are meant to help readers complete action items easier.

From Digiday

The billionaire Jack Ma, best known for founding e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, also founded Ant, an affiliate of Alibaba.

From Fortune

Our first tests emerged from an agreement between the University of the Republic, a local affiliate of the Pasteur Institute, and our central government.

From MIT Technology Review

Meanwhile, other publishers like Thrillist and The Strategist have been looking for new ways to extend their already growing affiliate businesses.

From Digiday

While affiliate links are also considered sponsored links, Google hasn’t directly made that clear yet.

From Search Engine Watch

“This is a federal mandate that is causing some real problems for schools across the country,” Kline told a CBS affiliate in July.

From The Daily Beast

Well let me tell you my experience with Health Republic and its affiliate MagnaCare.

From The Daily Beast

She had a twice-weekly cooking show on the NCB affiliate, WDSU TV in 1949-50.

From The Daily Beast

But the most recent poll of the race, conducted for the Baton Rouge Fox affiliate, has Landrieu ahead of Cassidy 36 to 32 percent.

From The Daily Beast

A local NBC affiliate reported that, when reached by phone, McFarland had confirmed the details of his revelation.

From The Daily Beast

She could not affiliate with the girls of her age, and it would be too mortifying to be put with those so much younger.

From Project Gutenberg

On this they could readily affiliate, and hold in common detestation the trinitarian power at Constantinople.

From Project Gutenberg

The Egyptians are supposed to affiliate remotely with the Semitic family.

From Project Gutenberg

You want to affiliate with her, to be one of her set, her surroundings, her monde.

From Project Gutenberg

Many were willing to affiliate even with conservative Republicans in order to overthrow the Radicals.

From Project Gutenberg