Other forms: discriminations
Discrimination is treating people worse because of who they are. Racial discrimination, age discrimination, a discrimination claim.
In British law, the Equality Act protects nine characteristics including race, sex, age, disability and religion, and it distinguishes direct discrimination from indirect, where a neutral rule disadvantages one group. Positive discrimination is generally unlawful in Britain; positive action is not. The older neutral sense means fine judgement — discrimination between two shades — and survives mainly in discriminating, meaning having good taste.
1noundiscriminationTreating people worse because of who they are.
“The discrimination was indirect and no less real for it.”
2nounabilityThe ability to judge fine differences.
“It takes years to develop that kind of discrimination.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
discrimination is a distinguishing or unfair treatment.
Latin discriminare means to divide or distinguish, from discrimen, a distinction. The word meant telling things apart for centuries before it meant treating people apart, and both senses are still in the dictionary.
Proto-Indo-European
*krey-
Latin
discriminatio
English, today
discrimination
Built from
Latin discriminatio, the action noun to discrimino (“distinguish”). Equivalent to discriminate + ion. In English use from the 17th century.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA