distinct English · revision 6906

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1382|origins=la distinguere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dɪˈstɪŋkt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is from the past participle of the obsolete verb distincten, “to distinguish” (about 1303),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[bor|fro|distincter]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and directly [[bor|la|distīnctus]], the past participle of [[m|la|distinguere|t=to separate, mark off]] (see [[distinguish]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) The adjective may also have been borrowed from Old French [[m|fro|distinct]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Distinguished as not the same, separate: 1382 in the OED,^(OED 1989) about 1390 in Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales'' in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) the late 14th century in Etymonline, which also has clearly perceptible by the senses.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a past participle it meant distinguished or differentiated and divided into parts, senses now obsolete.^(OED 1989) Possessing distinctive qualities, different in kind, is from 1523,^(OED 1989) separate so as to be distinguished from before 1674,^(OED 1989) and in natural history, of markings, discrete, from 1789.^(OED 1989) Plain and intelligible to the mind is from about 1600.^(Etymonline) Clearly defined or unmistakable, as in ''a distinct possibility'', is a later use.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) [[distinction|alt=Distinction]] is older, probably before 1200.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1303 – distincten, to distinguish.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1382 – separate, not the same.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1523 – different in nature.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1600 – plain to the mind.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1789 – discrete, of markings.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Recognizably different from others; separate, [[discrete]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Easily perceived; clear: ''a distinct smell of gas''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Clearly defined; definite: ''a distinct possibility''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Notable or decided.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[distinctly]]

+ * [[distinctness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[distinction]]

+ * [[distinctive]]

+ * [[distinguish]]

+ * [[distinguished]]

+ * [[extinct]]

+ * [[instinct]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The AHD distinguishes distinct, sharply distinguished from other things, from [[distinctive]], enabling one thing to be distinguished from another: a distinct species is a clearly defined type, a distinctive song is one that identifies its bird.^(AHD) It also compares distinct with [[discrete]], [[separate]], [[several]] and [[apparent]], which share the meaning “distinguished from others in nature or qualities”.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}