Where does “distinguishable” come from?
Distinguishable comes from Middle English -able, Old French -able, and Latin distinguere, derived from the prefix dis- meaning "apart" and the Proto-Indo-European root dwís meaning "two."
distinguishable (English): Able, or easily able to be distinguished
Definitions
- Able, or easily able to be distinguished
Ancestry of “distinguishable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | distinguish | To recognize someone or something as different... |
| 2 | Middle English | distingwen | — |
| 3 | Old French | distinguer | — |
| 4 | Latin | distinguo | I distinguish, separate, divide or part; I adorn... |
| 5 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 6 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 7 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |