From Latin 'discriminare' (to divide) — 'dis-' (apart) + 'cernere' (to sift), from PIE *krey- (to sieve, to separate).
To recognize a distinction; to differentiate. Also, to make an unjust distinction in the treatment of different categories of people, especially on grounds of race, age, or sex.
From Latin 'discrīminātus,' past participle of 'discrīmināre' (to divide, to distinguish, to separate by sifting), from 'discrīmen' (a separation, a distinction, a critical turning point, a dividing line), from 'discernere' (to separate, to distinguish, to decide by sifting), from 'dis-' (apart) + 'cernere' (to sift, to separate, to perceive). The PIE root is *krey- (to sieve, to separate, to distinguish). The same root produced Greek 'krīnein' (to separate, to decide, to judge) and its derivatives 'crisis' (a decisive moment of separation), 'criterion' (a standard for judging), and 'critic' (one who separates the good from the bad). Latin 'cernere' also gave English
The words 'discriminate,' 'discern,' 'crisis,' 'critic,' 'crime,' and 'secret' all come from the same PIE root *krey- (to sieve, to separate). A crisis is a 'separation' or 'turning point.' A critic 'sifts' and judges. A crime is 'a thing decided' (a charge). A secret is 'set apart' from common knowledge. All involve the act of separating one