Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “contradistinguish” come from?

contradistinguish (English) comes from English distinguish, from Middle English distingwen, from Old French distinguer, from Latin distinguo, from Latin dis-, from Latin calceus, from Latin calx, from Ancient Greek χάλιξ — small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble.

contradistinguish (English): To distinguish things by contrasting their...

Definitions

  1. To distinguish things by contrasting their...

Ancestry of “contradistinguish”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdistinguishTo recognize someone or something as different...
2Middle Englishdistingwen—
3Old Frenchdistinguer—
4LatindistinguoI distinguish, separate, divide or part; I adorn...
5Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
6Latincalceusshoe
7Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line
8Ancient Greekχάλιξsmall stone, pebble; gravel, rubble
Every word from Ancient Greek χάλιξ →