Meaning

verb recognize or perceive the difference

verb treat differently on the basis of sex or race

verb distinguish

originFirst attested in 1615; borrowed from Latin discrīminātus, perfect passive participle of discrīminō (“to divide, separate, distinguish”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from discrīmen (“a space between, division, separation, distinction”), from discernō (“to divide, separate, distinguish, discern”). By surface analysis, dis- + criminate.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0