Distinct

How to spell distinct

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce distinct

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does distinct mean?

1. adjectiveRecognisably different, separate from others, or clearly perceptible.

Distinct in a sentence

• The two job offers were so similar that no distinct advantage stood out.

• There was a distinct smell of fresh paint in the new office.

Where does distinct come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin distinctus, the past participle of distinguere, which meant 'to separate' or 'to mark off into parts'. That verb joined dis-, meaning 'apart', with stinguere, an old root carrying the sense of pricking or marking, so the literal idea was something set apart by a clear mark. English took the word in the late 1300s, partly through Old French, with the meaning 'separate, not identical'. From there it broadened to mean 'clearly perceptible' or 'unmistakable', since something marked off stands out plainly. The same stinguere root sits inside its close relatives 'distinguish' and 'extinguish', and the silent flow from -inct in the spelling is what trips writers, who sometimes drop the c before the t.

How the word is built

• dis- (apart)
• stinct (from stinguere: to prick, mark off); from Latin distinctus, the past participle