distinguish

pronunciation

How to pronounce distinguish in British English: UK [dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ]word uk audio image

How to pronounce distinguish in American English: US [dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ] word us audio image

  • Verb:
    mark as different
    detect with the senses
    be a distinctive feature, attribute, or trait; sometimes in a very positive sense
    make conspicuous or noteworthy
    identify as in botany or biology, for example

Word Origin

distinguish (v.)
1560s, from Middle French distinguiss-, stem of distinguer, or directly from Latin distinguere "to separate between, keep separate, mark off, distinguish," perhaps literally "separate by pricking," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + -stinguere "to prick" (compare extinguish and Latin instinguere "to incite, impel"). Watkins says "semantic transmission obscure;" the sense might be from "pricking out" as the old way to make punctuation in parchment or some literal image, but de Vaan derives the second element from a different PIE root meaning "to push, thrust." The meanings of ex- and restinguere 'to extinguish' and distinguere seem quite distinct, but can be understood if the root meant 'to press' or 'push': ex-stinguere 'to put a fire out', re-stinguere 'to push back, suppress', and dis-stinguere 'to push apart [thence] distinguish, mark off ...." The suffix -ish is due to the influence of many verbs in which it is the equivalent of Old French -iss-, ultimately from Latin inchoative suffix -iscere (this is also the case in extinguish, admonish, and astonish). Related: Distinguishing. The earlier form of the verb was distinguen (mid-14c.).

Example

1. Many brazilian industrialists distinguish between chinese and other competitors .
2. Curricula sometimes distinguish between training and education .
3. Doctors have struggled to distinguish the ailing from the malingering .
4. Psychologists distinguish two types of long-term memory .
5. Enter the electronic nose , an emerging technology that can distinguish these subtle differences .

more: >How to Use "distinguish" with Example Sentences