Wordwyrt

discern

/dɪˈsɜːn/dih-SURN
/dɪˈsɝn/dih-SURN

Meaningto sift apart

Common meaning: to make out

Other meanings: to judge well

‘apart, away’ + ‘to sift’ → discern

Journey through time

  1. Latincernō, crēvī, crētum‘to sift’
  2. Old Frenchdiscernersource
  3. Middle Englishdiscernensource
  4. Englishdiscern‘to make out’ · today

dis- also in: disarmdiscorddisdaindisgustdismiss

cern also in: crimesecretconcerndiscreetdiscrete

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin cernō ‘to sift; to distinguish’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry cernō, p. 318 · dictionary scan; Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry DISCREET, p. 169 · dictionary scan; Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry SECRET, p. 537 · dictionary scan

Roots

Related words

concerncrimediscreetdiscretesecret

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