Meaning

verb mark as different

verb detect with the senses

verb be a distinctive feature, attribute, or trait; sometimes in a very positive sense

originFrom Middle English distingwen, from Old French distinguer, from Latin distinguere (“to separate, divide, distinguish, set off, adorn, literally mark off”), from di-, dis- (“apart”) + stinguere, related to English stink. Compare extinguish.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0