English
discretion
Discretion comes from Late Latin discrētiō ‘separation’, from Latin cernō ‘to see, discern’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate, divide’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-1‘to sift, separate, divide’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*krinō1‘to sift, separate’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcernō1‘to see, discern’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscerno2‘to separate, set apart, divide, part’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdiscrētiō2‘separation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400discretion2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500discrecioun2
- Englishearliest quotation 1838discretion2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin discerno
- 2 Wiktionary, English discretion
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1838, Thomas Edlyne Tomlins: “With regard to a woman, at nine years of…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krey-Wiktionary, Latin discerno‘to sift, separate, divide’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*krinōWiktionary, Latin discerno‘to sift, separate’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcernōWiktionary, Latin discerno‘to see, discern’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiscernoWiktionary, English discretion‘to separate, set apart, divide, part’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEdiscrētiōWiktionary, English discretion‘separation’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400discretionWiktionary, English discretion
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500discreciounWiktionary, English discretion
- Englishearliest quotation 1838discretionWiktionary, English discretion. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1838, Thomas Edlyne Tomlins: “With regard to a woman, at nine years of…”
Formed from discreet + -ion
Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate, divide’
Latin discrētus ‘separated’
Old French discret ‘different’
Middle English discrete
English discreet
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *krey- ‘to sift, separate, divide’
certain, crime, criminal, secret, crisis, critic, critique, riddle, hypocrite, criterion, endocrine, discernible, rime, incriminate, discernment, ridder, criterium, incrimination, certitude, excrete, recrimination, 43 more
through Latin cernō ‘to see, discern’
secretary, discern, excrement, secretion, secrete, excretion, 9 more
through Latin discerno ‘to separate, set apart, divide, part’
Today it means
noun The quality of being discreet.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “discretion”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin discerno. 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- / discretion