discerned
|dis-cerned|
🇺🇸
/dɪˈsɜrn/
🇬🇧
/dɪˈsɜːn/
(discern)
recognize differences
Etymology
'discern' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'discernere', where 'dis-' meant 'apart' and 'cernere' meant 'to sift, separate, distinguish'.
'discern' changed from Latin 'discernere' into Old French (and/or Anglo-Norman) forms and Middle English 'discernen' / 'discerne', and eventually became the modern English word 'discern'.
Initially, it meant 'to separate' (in a physical or figurative sense), but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'to perceive or recognize (to distinguish)'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Verb 1
past tense or past participle form of 'discern'.
She discerned a pattern in the results.
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Verb 2
(sense of the base verb) to perceive, recognize, or detect something; to distinguish (often something that is not obvious).
From the faint marks, the investigator discerned the direction of the movement.
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Last updated: 2025/11/02 01:49