Etymograph

English

discriminate

Discriminate comes from Latin discrīminātus ‘determined’, from discrīminō ‘to divide, separate, distinguish’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krey-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-‘to sift, separate, divide’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*krinō‘to sift, separate’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcernō‘to distinguish, divide, separate, sift’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscernō‘to separate, set apart, divide, part’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscrīmen‘distinction, difference, discrimination’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscrīminō‘to divide, separate, distinguish’
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscrīminātus‘determined’perfect passive participle of discrīminō
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1627discriminate

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-‘to sift, separate, divide’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*krinō‘to sift, separate’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcernō‘to distinguish, divide, separate, sift’
  4. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscernō‘to separate, set apart, divide, part’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscrīmen‘distinction, difference, discrimination’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscrīminō‘to divide, separate, distinguish’
  7. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscrīminātus‘determined’perfect passive participle of discrīminō
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1627discriminate

Earliest quotation: 1627, IX. Century.: “Nevertheless it is certain, that oisters, and cockles, and…”

Equivalent to dis- + criminate

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ‘two’

Proto-Indo-European *dwís ‘twice, doubly’

English dis-

Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate, divide’

Latin crīminātus ‘having accused’

English criminate

first attested First attested in 1615 (as stated in the etymology)

The story

First attested in 1615; borrowed from Latin discrīminātus, perfect passive participle of discrīminō (‘to divide, separate, distinguish’) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from discrīmen (‘a space between, division, separation, distinction’), from discernō (‘to divide, separate, distinguish, discern’).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate, divide’

certain, secret, crime, crisis, criminal, critic, critique, riddle, criterion, hypocrite, endocrine, discernible, discernment, rime, ridder, certitude, excrete, criterium, incrimination, incriminate, recrimination, 46 more

through Latin cernō ‘to distinguish, divide, separate, sift’

secretary, secretion, discern, excrement, excretion, secrete, 10 more

through Latin discernō ‘to separate, set apart, divide, part’

discretion, 4 more

Today it means

verb To make distinctions.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *krey- / discriminate

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