Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Identify

Identify , transitive verb

[Compare French identifier. See Identity, and -fy.]

1.
To make to be the same; to unite or combine in such a manner as to make one; to treat as being one or having the same purpose or effect; to consider as the same in any relation.
Every precaution is taken to identify the interests of the people and of the rulers. — D. Ramsay
Let us identify, let us incorporate ourselves with the people. — Burke
2.
To establish the identity of; to prove to be the same with something described, claimed, or asserted; as, to identify stolen property.

Identify , intransitive verb

1.
To become the same; to coalesce in interest, purpose, use, effect, etc. [Obsolete or Rare]
2.
To coalesce in interest, purpose, use, effect, etc.; to associate oneself in name, goals, or feelings; usually used with with; as, he identified with the grief she felt at her father's death.
An enlightened self-interest, which, when well understood, they tell us will identify with an interest more enlarged and public. — Burke