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distinguish

Etymology and origin of the English word distinguish

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1561
Borrowed from
Middle French distinguer
Ultimate origin
Latin (distinguō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dɪˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪʃ/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French distinguer (stem distinguiss-),[2][3] or directly Latin distinguō (“to separate, mark off”),[3][4] from dis- (“apart”) and -stinguere, perhaps to prick (compare extinguish and instinct);[3][2][5] de Vaan prefers a root meaning to push.[3] The ending is due to verbs like admonish and astonish in which -ish comes from French -iss-.[3][6] It replaced Middle English distinguen (about 1340).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To recognize as distinct, to perceive or make out: 1561 in Barnhart and the OED, the 1560s in Etymonline.[2][7][3]

Semantic evolution

To mark as different is from the 1570s (1576),[3][7] and to divide into classes from 1581.[7] To set apart by a mark of honour is from about 1600,[3] and the intransitive sense, to make a distinction between, from the 1610s.[3] Distinguishable is from 1594 and distinguished from 1609, meaning famous from 1714.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1340 – distinguen.[2]
  • 1561 – to distinguish.[2][7]
  • 1576 – to mark as different.[7]
  • c. 1600 – to honour.[3]
  • 1714 – distinguished, famous.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To recognize or show the difference between; to differentiate.
  2. To make out by the senses; to discern.
  3. To be a characteristic mark of; to set apart.
  4. To make oneself notable: she distinguished herself in the war.

Word family

  • distinguishable
  • distinguishably
  • distinguishability
  • distinguishableness
  • distinguisher
  • distinguishment
  • interdistinguish
  • redistinguish

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Distinguish.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/distinguish. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·