▪ I. discriminate, a.
(dɪˈskrɪmɪnət)
[ad. L. discrīmināt-us divided, separated, distinguished, pa. pple. of discrīmināre: see next.]
1. Distinct, distinguished, discriminated. arch.
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §875 It is certaine that Oysters and Cockles, and Mussles..haue no discriminate Sex. 1805 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. XIX. 657 The characters of the savages are well-drawn; they are more discriminate and various than those of the Europeans. 1887 E. Johnson Antiqua Mater 69 A Hellenistic ecclesiastical as discriminate from a synagogal literature and life. |
2. Marked by discrimination or discernment; making careful or exact distinctions: opp. to indiscriminate.
| 1798 Malthus Popul. (1817) III. 289 The best..mode in which occasional and discriminate assistance can be given. Ibid. (1878) 479 Much may be done by discriminate charity. 1834 Foster in Life & Corr. (1846) II. 250 Discriminate perception. 1895 Westm. Gaz. 20 Mar. 2/1 The discriminate ascetic is the true hedonist. |
Hence diˈscriminately adv., with discrimination; diˈscriminateness, the quality of having discrimination.
| 1727 Bailey vol. II, Discriminateness, distinguishingness. 1779–81 Johnson L.P., Shenstone, His conception of an Elegy he has in his Preface very judiciously and discriminately explained. 1884 Bookseller Sept. 909/2 Discriminately he purchased everything that came in his way. |
▪ II. discriminate, v.
(dɪˈskrɪmɪneɪt)
[f. L. discrīmināt- ppl. stem of discrīmināre to divide, separate, distinguish, f. discrīmen, -crīmin- division, distinction, f. stem of discernĕre to distinguish, discern. (Cf. crime.)]
1. trans. To make or constitute a difference in or between; to distinguish, differentiate.
| 1628 Prynne Love-lockes 26 Who poll one side of their heads—of purpose to discriminate themselues from others. 1666 Boyle Orig. Formes & Qual., Such slight differences as those that discriminate these Bodies. 1774 Warton Hist. Eng. Poetry (1775) I. Diss. i. 65 No peculiarity..more strongly discriminates the manners of the Greeks and Romans from those of modern times. a 1871 Grote Eth. Fragm. iii. (1876) 59 Capacities which discriminate one individual from another. |
2. To distinguish with the mind or intellect; to perceive, observe, or note the difference in or between.
| 1665 Hooke Microgr. 66 The surfaces..being so neer together, that the eye cannot discriminate them from one. a 1677 Barrow Wks. (1687) I. xx. 283 We take upon us..to discriminate the goats from the sheep. 1836 J. Gilbert Chr. Atonem. v. (1852) 139 It is in the nature of the reward sought..that we discriminate a mean from a noble transaction. 1891 F. Hall in Nation (N.Y.) LII. 244/1 How is one..to discriminate the teachings of Dr. Trench's reviser from those of Dr. Trench himself? |
3. a. intr. or absol. To make a distinction; to perceive or note the difference (between things); to exercise discernment. spec. To exercise racial discrimination (cf. discrimination 1 c).
| 1774 J. Bryant Mythol. II. 523 The purport of the term, which discriminates, may not be easy to be deciphered. 1857 Buckle Civiliz. I. vii. 321 It is by reason, and not by faith, that we must discriminate in religious matters. 1866 A. Johnson Speech 27 Mar. in H. S. Commager Documents Amer. Hist. (1935) II. 16/2 Congress can repeal all State laws discriminating between whites and blacks in the subjects covered by this bill. 1876 Green Stray Stud. 26 He would discriminate between temporary and chronic distress. 1936 New Statesman 8 Aug. 190/2 When discriminating racially, popular opinion lays emphasis on the Negro's colour. |
b. to discriminate against: to make an adverse distinction with regard to; to distinguish unfavourably from others. With indirect pass.
| 1880 Mark Twain (Clemens) Tramp Abr. II. 153, I did not propose to be discriminated against on account of my nationality. 1885 Pall Mall. G. 24 Feb. 8/1 The action of the German Government in discriminating against certain imports from the United States. 1886 Ibid. 19 July 3/2 If the police, as the Socialists declare, discriminate against them on account of their opinions. 1899 B. T. Washington Fut. Amer. Negro vi. 130 We find the Negro forgetting his own wrongs, forgetting the laws and customs that discriminate against him in his own country. 1968 Listener 3 Oct. 427/2 If you move around for ever with the expectation of being discriminated against, the chances are you won't ever be disappointed. |
Hence diˈscriminated ppl. a., distinguished from others; perceived as distinct.
| 1783 J. Young Crit. Gray's Elegy (1810) 49 The discriminated catalogue of the dead. 1848 R. I. Wilberforce Incarnation v. (1852) 137 The two titles [Father, and Son] imply a real co-existence of discriminated Persons. |