# distinction

Pronunciation: say "di-STINGK-shuhn" /dɪˈstɪŋkʃən/

## Noun

1. The act of distinguishing or telling apart; the drawing of differences between things.
   - Simple: The act of seeing how two or more things are different from each other.
   - _The essay relies on a careful distinction between cause and correlation._
   - _Philosophers spent centuries refining the distinction between knowledge and belief._
2. Something about a person or thing that marks it out as different from the rest of its type.
   - Simple: A feature that makes a person or thing stand out from others of the same kind.
   - _The novel's chief distinction is its unusual second-person narration._
   - _Among desert reptiles, the gecko's adhesive toe pads are a notable distinction._
3. A feature or honor that marks someone or something as better than others; eminence or excellence in rank or achievement.
   - Simple: A special honor or quality that shows a person or thing is better than others.
   - _The scientist earned distinction for her work on vaccines._
   - _He served with such distinction that the regiment named an award after him._
4. That which distinguishes; a particular difference or dividing factor that separates one thing from another.
   - Simple: A point that separates one thing from another and shows they are not the same.
   - _A crucial distinction separates legal ownership from physical possession._
   - _The treaty rested on a fine distinction between defense and aggression._

## Origin

This comes from Middle English distinccioun, from Old French distinction (recorded from the 12th century), which was borrowed from Latin distinctiōnem, an action noun of distinguō meaning "to separate or distinguish." It is attested in English from the late 14th century.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/distinction (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).