Discrimination
/dɪˌskrɪmɪˈneɪʃən/noun
The ability to distinguish between things; unfair treatment of people based on group membership.
Did you know?Discrimination comes from Latin *discriminare*, meaning to split or separate, and *crimen* in the same family gave us words tied to judgment and accusation—so the word’s history is all about drawing a line and deciding who’s inside or out.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*krei-
“to sieve, sift, separate”
Latin
Latin
crīmen
“a judgment, charge, accusation”
Latin
Latin
discriminare
“to divide, separate, distinguish”
Late Latin
Latin
discriminatio
“distinguishing, making a distinction”
14th Century
English
discriminacioun
“the act of distinguishing or recognizing differences”
Modern English
English
discrimination
“the act of distinguishing; unfair or prejudicial treatment of a person or group”