crim-, crimino-

(Latin: judicial decision, verdict, object of reproach, offense)

Closely related to the cern- family of "separated, set apart" words.

crime

Etymology:

Crime is one of a wide range of English words which come ultimately from or are related to the Greek verb krinein, "to decide". This was a relative of Latin cernere, "to decide", from whose root evolved the noun crimen, "judgment, accusation, illegal act".

This passed via Old French crimne (later crime) into English, where traces of the original meaning "accusation" survived until the 17th century.

—Based on information from
Word Origins, John Ayto, Arcade Publishing,
New York, 1990.

criminal

criminality

criminalogy

criminate

discriminant

discriminate

1. To treat one person or group worse than others or better than others, usually because of a prejudice about race, ethnic group, age group, religion, or gender.
2. To recognize or identify a difference.
3. To pay attention to subtle differences and exercise judgment and taste.

discriminately

discriminating

1. Able to identify subtle differences and appreciate good quality or taste.
2. Used to describe tariffs that are set at different rates for different importers.

discriminatioin

discriminative

incriminate

incrimination

indiscriminate

indiscriminately

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crim-, crimino-

(Latin: judicial decision, verdict, object of reproach, offense)

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