English
discernible
Discernible comes from Latin discernibilis, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate, divide’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-1‘to sift, separate, divide’root named by Wiktionary
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscernibilis1
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600discernable1
- Englishearliest quotation 1821discernible1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English discernible
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1821, John Duncan: “To have demolished and rebuilt the walls, would have…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-Wiktionary, English discernible‘to sift, separate, divide’root named by Wiktionary
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscernibilisWiktionary, English discernible
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600discernableWiktionary, English discernible
- Englishearliest quotation 1821discernibleWiktionary, English discernible. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1821, John Duncan: “To have demolished and rebuilt the walls, would have…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate, divide’
secretary, secret, crime, certain, criminal, crisis, discrimination, critic, critique, discretion, hypocrite, criterion, riddle, discriminate, discrete, endocrine, discreet, excrement, excretion, incriminate, rime, incrimination, excrete, recrimination, ridder, discernment, criterium, certitude, 44 more
through Middle French discernable
Today it means
adj Possible to discern; detectable or derivable by use of the senses or the intellect.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “discernible”. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *krey- / discernible