Etymograph

English

discernable

Discernable comes from Middle French discernable.

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600discernable1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1846discernable1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English discernable
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1846, Herman Melville: “These marks produce the corduroy sort of stripes discernable…”.

Lineage

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600discernableWiktionary, English discernable
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1846discernableWiktionary, English discernable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1846, Herman Melville: “These marks produce the corduroy sort of stripes discernable…”

Formed from discern + -able

Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sieve’

…

Latin cernō ‘to distinguish’

Latin discernere ‘to separate, divide, distinguish, discern’

Old French discerner

Middle English discernen

English discern

Linked words

through Middle French discernable

discernible

Today it means

adj —

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “discernable”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Middle French discernable / discernable

Shirt and support for this word