discrimino

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [dɪsˈkriː.mɪ.noː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [disˈkriː.mi.no]^[1]

Forms

discrīminō (present infinitive discrīmināre, perfect active discrīmināvī, supine discrīminātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from discrīmen “dividing line, distinction” with the verb suffix ⟨-ō⟩.^[2][1][3] ⟨Discrīmen⟩ is from discernō “to separate”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Varro, of dividing and distinguishing.^[2] Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to divide up, separate, and to distinguish, differentiate, as in Varro.^[2] Lewis & Short call it very rare.^[6]

Its participle discrīminātus gave English discriminate in the 1620s, “to distinguish”.^[4] It was borrowed into Italian discriminare and Spanish discriminar.^[1]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it.^[2][5]
• 1620s – English discriminate is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To divide, separate.^[2]
2. To distinguish, differentiate.^[2]

Word family

• discrīminātim
• discrīminātiō
• discrīminātor
• discriminatrix

Related words

• discrīmen
• discernō
• English discriminate

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press