# distinct
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English distincte, from Old French, from Latin distinctus, past participle of distinguere (“to distinguish”); see distinguish.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /dɪˈstɪŋkt/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɪŋkt

### Adjective

distinct (comparative distincter or more distinct, superlative distinctest or most distinct)
* Capable of being perceived very clearly.
    Her voice was distinct despite the heavy traffic.
** 2013 July-August, Fenella Saunders, “Tiny Lenses See the Big Picture”, in American Scientist:The single-imaging optic of the mammalian eye offers some distinct visual advantages. Such lenses can take in photons from a wide range of angles, increasing light sensitivity. They also have high spatial resolution, resolving incoming images in minute detail.
* Different from one another (with the preferable adposition being "from").
    Horses are distinct from zebras.
** 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 13, in Well Tackled!‎:“Yes, there are two distinct sets of footprints, both wearing rubber shoes—one I think ordinary plimsolls, the other goloshes,” replied the sergeant.
* Noticeably different from others; distinctive.
    Olga's voice is quite distinct because of her accent.
* Separate in place; not conjunct or united; with from.
** 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the Theater, published 1707, →OCLC:The intention was that the two armies which marched out together should afterward be distinct.
* (obsolete) Distinguished; having the difference marked; separated by a visible sign; marked out; specified.
** 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:Wherever thus created — for no place / Is yet distinct by name.
* (obsolete) Marked; variegated.
** 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 23:The which [place] was dight / With divers flowres distinct with rare delight.

#### Synonyms

* (capable of being perceived very clearly): clear, vivid; see also Thesaurus:distinct
* (different from one another): different, separate, several (obsolete)
* (noticeably different): characteristic, distinctive, prominent
* (separate in place): discrete, individual, noncontinuous, separate
* (distinguished): specified
* (marked): patterned; see also Thesaurus:marked

#### Antonyms

* (antonym(s) of “capable of being perceived very clearly”): confusing, indistinct; see also Thesaurus:indistinct
* (antonym(s) of “different from one another”): same, indistinguishable

#### Derived terms

* contradistinct
* distinctify
* distinctly
* distinctness
* distinctor
* distinctual
* nondistinct
* ultradistinct
* undistinct

#### Related terms

* distinction
* distinctive
* distinguish
* distinguished
* distinguishable
* distinguishness
* extinct

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Verb

distinct (third-person singular simple present distincts, present participle distincting, simple past and past participle distincted)
* (obsolete, transitive) To distinguish; to make a distinction.
** 1788, James McHenry, letter to George Washington, 27 July, in The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections 1788–1790, vol. 2, ed. Gordon DenBoer, University of Wisconsin Press, 1984, page 109:
    Here every means is made use of to do away all distincting between federal and antifederal and I suspect with no very friendly design to the federal cause.

### Further reading

* “distinct”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* “distinct”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

## French
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin distinctus.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /dis.tɛ̃/, /dis.tɛ̃kt/
* Homophones: distincts (general), distincte, distinctes (form 2)

### Adjective

distinct (feminine distincte, masculine plural distincts, feminine plural distinctes)
* distinct; discrete (separate, distinguished, different)

#### Related terms

* distinguer

### Further reading

* “distinct”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French distinct, Latin distinctus.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /disˈtinkt/

### Adjective

distinct m or n (feminine singular distinctă, masculine plural distincți, feminine and neuter plural distincte)
* distinct

#### Related terms

* distinctiv
* distincție
* distinge

### Further reading

* distinct in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)