associate
n. countablen. a person you work with or know through business. It can also mean someone who has a lower rank in a company or group.
n. a person connected with another in a professional or commercial capacity. Often used as a job title to indicate a junior or entry-level professional status within a firm.
She is a close business associate of mine.
After three years at the law firm, he was promoted from a junior clerk to a senior associate.
The investigation focused on the suspect's former business associates, seeking to determine if any of them had knowledge of the unauthorized financial transfers.
From Middle English associat(e) (used participially as well as adjectively up to Early Modern English), from Latin associātus, the perfect passive participle of associō (“to join, unite”), from ad- + sociō, from socius (“shared, common, kindred”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix).
From the substantivization of the above adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.
From Middle English associat(e) (“associated, allied”) (the verb *associaten is not found in Middle English writings and only attested at a later period), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Doublet of associe.
Often followed by the preposition 'of' to show the connection to a person or 'at' to show the connection to a company.
He is my associate of workHe is my business associateLearners often translate directly from other languages; 'business associate' or 'colleague' is the standard English collocation.