entry
discern
/dɪˈsɜːrn/Perceive or distinguish clearly
From Latin dis- (apart) + Latin cernere (to separate).
from Old French discerner (13c.) "distinguish (between), separate" (by sifting), and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French discerner (13c.) "distinguish (between), separate" (by sifting), and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Latin discernere "to separate, set apart, divide, distribute; distinguish, perceive,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French discerner (13c.) "distinguish (between), separate" (by sifting), and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Middle English discernen
from Old French discerner (13c.) "distinguish (between), separate" (by sifting), and directly
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Old French discerner (13c.) "distinguish (between), separate" (by sifting), and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Old French discerner (13c.) "distinguish (between), separate" (by sifting), and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Latin discernere "to separate, set apart, divide, distribute; distinguish, perceive,"
+1 more sourcefrom Old French discerner (13c.) "distinguish (between), separate" (by sifting), and directly
+1 more sourcefrom Middle English discernen
from Old French discerner (13c.) "distinguish (between), separate" (by sifting), and directly
+1 more sourceHere’s the neat little trick hiding inside **discern**: it began as an act of sorting. The Latin verb *cernere* meant to sift or separate, as if you were shaking flour through a sieve and deciding what stayed and what fell away; add *dis-*—the prefix of splitting and scattering—and you get something like “separate apart.” That same old family of judgment gives us **discernment**, **discretion**, and **discriminate**, all words that still carry the feel of a careful hand picking one thing from another. By the time English borrowed it through Old French in the late 1300s, the literal sieve had become a mental one. To discern is still to do what a good sieve does: let the fine differences show through.
The Story
Here’s the neat little trick hiding inside **discern**: it began as an act of sorting. The Latin verb *cernere* meant to sift or separate, as if you were shaking flour through a sieve and deciding what stayed and what fell away; add *dis-*—the prefix of splitting and scattering—and you get something like “separate apart.” That same old family of judgment gives us **discernment**, **discretion**, and **discriminate**, all words that still carry the feel of a careful hand picking one thing from another. By the time English borrowed it through Old French in the late 1300s, the literal sieve had become a mental one. To discern is still to do what a good sieve does: let the fine differences show through.
Kin & Kindred
From 'dis-'·apart; away; in different directions
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'cernere'·to separate, sift, distinguish
Derived Terms
English words from this root