Discrimination

Word of the day
noun
1 the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, esp. on the grounds of race, age, or sex:
victims of racial discrimination | discrimination against homosexuals.

2 recognition and understanding of the difference between one thing and another:
discrimination between right and wrong | young children have difficulties in making fine discriminations.
• the ability to discern what is of high quality; good judgment or taste: those who could afford to buy showed little taste or discrimination.
• Psychology the ability to distinguish between different stimuli:
[ as modifier ] :
discrimination learning.

New Oxford American Dictionary

discriminate (v.)
1620s, from L. discriminatus, pp. of discriminare "to divide, separate," from discrimen (gen. discriminis) "interval, distinction, difference," derived noun from discernere (see discern). The adverse (usually racial) sense is first recorded 1866, Amer.Eng. Positive sense remains in discriminating. Related: Discriminated. Also used 17c. and after as an adjective meaning "distinct."
discrimination
1640s, "the making of distinctions," from L.L. discriminationem (nom. discriminatio), noun of action from pp. stem of discriminare (see discriminate). Especially in a prejudicial way, based on race, 1866, Amer.Eng. Meaning "discernment" is from 1814.
It especially annoys me when racists are accused of 'discrimination.' The ability to discriminate is a precious facility; by judging all members of one 'race' to be the same, the racist precisely shows himself incapable of discrimination. [Christopher Hitchens]