Where does “distinguish” come from?
Distinguish comes from Middle English distingwen, from Old French distinguer, from Latin distinguere, meaning to separate or divide, formed from the prefix dis- meaning apart and a root from Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁ meaning two.
distinguish (English): To recognize someone or something as different...
Definitions
- To recognize someone or something as different...
Ancestry of “distinguish”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | distingwen | — |
| 2 | Old French | distinguer | — |
| 3 | Latin | distinguo | I distinguish, separate, divide or part; I adorn... |
| 4 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 5 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 6 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |
Words derived from “distinguish”
- distinguished
- distinguishing
- distinguishable
- indistinguishable
- undistinguished
- undistinguishable
- indistinguishability
- indistinguishably
- undistinguishing
- distinguishability
- distinguisher
- distinguishably
- distinguishment
- distinguisheth
- undistinguishably
- distinguishingly
- contradistinguish
- indistinguished
- distinguishedly
- indistinguishableness
- distinguishest
- undistinguishableness
- indistinguishing
- nondistinguishable