Where does “indistinguishable” come from?
Indistinguishable comes from English distinguish, which derives from Latin distinguere, formed from the prefix dis- and a root from Proto-Indo-European oyd- meaning to separate or divide.
indistinguishable (English): Not distinguishable; not capable of being...
Definitions
- Not distinguishable; not capable of being...
Ancestry of “indistinguishable”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | distinguishable | Able, or easily able to be distinguished |
| 2 | English | distinguish | To recognize someone or something as different... |
| 3 | Middle English | distingwen | — |
| 4 | Old French | distinguer | — |
| 5 | Latin | distinguo | I distinguish, separate, divide or part; I adorn... |
| 6 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 7 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 8 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |