Distinguishes

How to spell distinguishes

13 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce distinguishes

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does distinguishes mean?

1. verbRecognises or marks a difference between two or more things, or sets something apart as notable.

Distinguishes in a sentence

• A good editor distinguishes between a typo and a genuine error of fact.

• The heavy oak panelling distinguishes this office from every other room in the building.

Where does distinguishes come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb distinguere, which meant 'to separate' or 'to mark off', built from the prefix dis- meaning 'apart' and the root stinguere, which carried the literal sense of 'to prick' or 'to mark by pricking'. The idea was that to tell things apart you set a mark or boundary between them. English borrowed it through Old French distinguer in the late 1500s, and the spelling was deliberately remodelled toward the Latin form, giving us the silent 'gu' cluster that traps so many writers. The same root survives in the closely related words 'distinct', 'extinguish', and 'instinct'. The trickiest part of spelling it is remembering the 'gu' after the 'n', since the sound gives no clue that a 'u' belongs there.

How the word is built

• dis- (apart)
• -stingu- (from stinguere: to mark by pricking)
• -ish (verb-forming)
• -es (third person singular)