English
distinct
Distinct comes from Latin distinctus ‘distinct, separate’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdistinctus‘distinct, separate’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400destincter
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500distincte
- Englishearliest quotation 1596distinct
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdistinctus‘distinct, separate’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400destincter
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500distincte
- Englishearliest quotation 1596distinct
Earliest quotation: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book VI, Canto III: “The which [place] was dight / With divers flowres…”
Every English word from Latin distinctus
Today it means
adj Capable of being perceived very clearly.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin distinctus / distinct