Etymograph

English

distingue

Distingue comes from French distinguer ‘to distinguish’, from Latin stinguō ‘to put out, extinguish’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ- ‘to push’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stengʷ-‘to push’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sténgʷeti‘to push, thrust’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*stengʷō‘to push’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstinguō‘to put out, extinguish’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdistinguōas distinguere‘to distinguish’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600distinguer
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentsame formas distingué‘to distinguish’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1873distingue

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*stengʷ-‘to push’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*sténgʷeti‘to push, thrust’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*stengʷō‘to push’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEstinguō‘to put out, extinguish’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdistinguōas distinguere‘to distinguish’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600distinguer
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentsame formas distingué‘to distinguish’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1873distingue

Earliest quotation: 1873, Charles Reade, London: Chapman and Hall: “By the time the blue dress was tried on,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ- ‘to push’

stench, stink, 6 more

through Latin stinguō ‘to put out, extinguish’

extinction, instinct, extinct, 5 more

Today it means

adj Fashionably distinguished or elegant; having an air of superiority.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ- / distingue

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