Discriminating

How to spell discriminating

14 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce discriminating

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does discriminating mean?

1. adjectiveShowing careful judgement and refined taste in recognising fine differences in quality.
2. verbMaking a distinction between people or things, often by treating one group unfairly.

Discriminating in a sentence

• adjective

  She has a discriminating palate and orders only the finest wine.

• verb

  The firm was accused of discriminating against older applicants during hiring.

• adjective

  The boutique caters to discriminating shoppers who value craftsmanship.

• verb

  A policy discriminating between full-time and part-time staff drew complaints.

Where does discriminating come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb discriminare, meaning 'to divide' or 'to set apart', which was built on the noun discrimen, a 'distinction' or 'dividing line'. That noun in turn grew from discernere, 'to separate' or 'to distinguish', the same root that gives us 'discern'. English adopted the verb 'discriminate' in the early 1600s with the neutral sense of telling things apart and judging fine differences, and 'discriminating' as a participle naturally carried that meaning of careful, perceptive judgement. Only later, in the nineteenth century, did the word pick up its darker social sense of treating people unfairly on the basis of a category. The single 'c' followed by 'min' is the spot writers tend to second-guess, so it helps to remember the buried Latin crimen-like root discrimen meaning a fine distinction.

How the word is built

• dis- (apart)
• crimin (from Latin discrimen: a distinction, dividing line)
• -ate (verb-forming)
• -ing (present participle/adjective ending)