From Latin 'distinguere' (to separate by pricking marks) — telling things apart by marking them with a sharp point.
To recognize or treat as different; to perceive a difference between things; to make prominent or eminent.
From Middle French 'distinguiss-' (stem of 'distinguer'), from Latin 'distinguere' (to separate, to mark off, to discriminate), composed of 'dis-' (apart, from PIE *dwis-) + 'stinguere' (to prick, to mark, to extinguish). 'Stinguere' connects to PIE *steig- (to prick, to pierce, to point), which also underlies English 'stick,' 'sting,' 'stigma,' 'instinct,' and 'extinct.' The PIE root *steig- is well-attested: Greek 'stizein' (to tattoo, to prick), Old